Overview
A narrow victory over Verona in round 17 helped AC Milan temporarily overcome criticism after only earning 1 point in the previous 2 matches. However, this victory could not help Milan rise to the top group as they are currently ranked 8th with 26 points. They are still 8 points behind the top 4.
Tijani Reijnders has been one of Milan's most in-form players, scoring four goals in his last six games in all competitions. The midfielder also scored the only goal as Milan beat Verona.
Meanwhile, Roma are showing signs of revival under new coach Claudio Ranieri. In their last two matches, Roma had impressive victories over Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia and Parma in Serie A.
They scored a total of nine goals and conceded just once in those two games. Their recent run of good form has seen Roma climb to mid-table.
However, Roma's journey to compete for a ticket to the European Cup is still very fierce. They will have to face a difficult away trip to Milan.
Although Roma have two wins against Milan in the Europa League, they have failed to beat their opponents in their last nine Serie A matches.
Coupled with the home advantage, Milan will not let the three points slip away in the final match of 2024. Furthermore, the Rossoneri won 3-1 in their last Serie A meeting at home at San Siro in January.
Human resources situation
Alvaro Morata is out injured for AC Milan, so Tammy Abraham will have the chance to face his parent club Roma.
Milan's Yunus Musah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic are also injured, opening up opportunities for Samuel Chukwueze and Francesco Camarda in attack for the home side.
On the other side of the front line, Roma have no notable injuries or suspensions and will likely stick with the same lineup that defeated Parma.
Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala will continue to line up in attack, although Mario Hermoso and Lorenzo Pellegrini could return after sitting out the previous game.
Expected lineup:
AC Milan: Maignan, Hernandez, Gabbia, Tomori, Royal, Fofana, Teracciano, Camarda, Reijnders, Chukwueze, Abraham.
Roma: Svilar, Mancini, Hermoso, Ndicka, Angelino, Paredes, Kone, Saelemaekers, Pellegrini, El Shaarawy, Dovbyk.
The match between AC Milan and Roma takes place at 2:45 a.m. on December 30 (Vietnam time).
