Overview
AC Milan faced many difficulties when hosting Udinese at San Siro last weekend, after falling to third place due to a defeat to Napoli.
Notably, Rossoneri conceded 3 goals without scoring a single goal right at home against a mid-range opponent, causing increasing pressure on coach Massimiliano Allegri.
Not long ago, Milan was 6 points behind Inter Milan and nurtured the hope of competing for the championship. However, in the current context, a more practical goal is to maintain a UEFA Champions League spot.
With only 6 rounds left in the season, Allegri's team is under great pressure from chasing opponents such as Juventus, Como and AS Roma.
The decline in form is easily noticeable. Milan has lost 4 of their last 7 matches in Serie A, after a 24-match unbeaten streak before that. More worryingly, they often encounter difficulties against lower-rated opponents.
On the contrary, Milan played well against the top teams, winning 29 points - only behind Inter. However, instability against the bottom group is costing them.
After two consecutive defeats without scoring, Milan is forced to find victory again when traveling to Stadio Bentegodi - where they have won 6 consecutive matches in recent years.
Head-to-head history also favors the away team. Hellas Verona has never beaten Milan in Serie A since December 2017, and has lost all 10 recent encounters with a total score of 6-22.
Since the 0-3 defeat at San Siro in December, Verona has continued to decline and is facing the risk of relegation. Coach Paolo Sammarco's team is currently 9 points behind the safe zone when the season is only 6 rounds away.
The 1-2 defeat to Torino recently - although Kieron Bowie once equalized - caused Verona to suffer their fourth consecutive defeat.
Poor performance at home makes the situation even more gloomy. Verona has only won 1 of 15 home matches in Serie A this season, and the upcoming reception of Milan promises to be a huge challenge.
Personnel situation
After unsuccessful experiments with a 4-defender formation against Udinese, Massimiliano Allegri is likely to return to the familiar 3-5-2 system in the weekend match, when he has almost the full force.
The simultaneous recovery of the strikers makes Milan face the problem of choosing personnel in attack. Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao have scored 8 and 9 goals in Serie A this season, but Christopher Nkunku, Niclas Fullkrug and Santiago Gimenez are also ready to compete for a starting spot.
Pulisic's form is a big question mark. The last time he scored in Serie A was against Hellas Verona at the end of December, and since then has gone through a 14-match goalless streak - his longest in the league. Meanwhile, Leao has also never scored at the Stadio Bentegodi.
On Verona's side, key striker Gift Orban also declined in form when he has not scored since January and lost his official position to Kieron Bowie in the most recent match.
In the context that only victory brings meaning, these two strikers may be used together in the upcoming match, when Tomas Suslov returns after suspension.
In terms of strength, the home team continues to be without Suat Serdar long-term, while Armel Bella-Kotchap and Sandi Lovric are still not at their best due to injuries.
Expected lineup:
Verona: Montipo, Edmundsson, Nelsson, Frese, Oyegoke, Akpa Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Belghali, Bowie, Orban.
AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi, Pulisic, Leao.
The match between Verona and AC Milan takes place at 8:00 PM on April 19 (Vietnam time).
