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Hellas Verona vs. AC Milan Photograph: (https://icdn.sempremilan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-81.jpg)
Even if AC Milan's chances of winning Serie A were already slim going into the half, they will go to Hellas Verona on Friday night hoping to bolster their quest for a top-four finish.
Verona's most recent victory snapped a four-game losing streak, while Milan has fallen to mid-table after registering just one win in their past five matches.
Preview of the match
With last week's dreadful scoreless draw against Genoa dropping them to eighth place in the rankings, Milan's Scudetto aspirations must be put on hold for another year. They are now eleven points behind rivals Inter Milan and thirteen points behind Serie A leaders Atalanta BC.
There is mounting doubt over the long-term future of Paulo Fonseca, the club's former Roma coach since his team has won only six of its fifteen league matches thus far. This is the poorest start to the season for the club since 2019.
Even after starting two young, inexperienced players against the Grifone, his team's offensive and defensive balance is off. They either let the defense in and get caught whenever he introduces new players or close down and grind out a draw.
After conceding two goals in their first three Serie A matches, the Rossoneri have kept seven clean sheets in their last twelve—a streak matched only by Napoli—but their uneven play has prevented them from keeping up with the top four teams in Italy.
Fonseca may find redemption in knockout events since Milan just won the Champions League for the fourth consecutive season after advancing to the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. This is in stark contrast to their poor league success.
They have won their past seven league matches against Verona and are undefeated in their last eleven, so a win at Stadio Bentegodi would be enough to seal the deal.
Since Friday's opponents had already beaten their second-city equivalents twice in very important games for the Rossoneri, Milan supporters had begun to refer to them as "Fatal Verona"—the Bentegodi had become a place of near dread.
On the other hand, Hellas has lost each of its past five matches in Verona, and its management is under much more pressure than Fonseca's.
Paolo Zanetti was unexpectedly granted a stay of execution after his team's 12th league or cup defeat of the season, a 4-1 loss to former club Empoli. Since then, he has purchased extra time by rescuing a 3-2 away victory over fellow strugglers Parma.
At Stadio Tardini, Verona took the lead early on, thanks to a goal from Diego Coppola. However, they have trailed for the longest minutes in Serie A this season (639 total, including 356 at home, another league record).
The Gialloblu are still in a precarious position. Despite their recent success, they have failed to secure back-to-back victories since March and have conceded at least one goal in each of their past thirteen league matches.
Hellas Verona x AC Milan
Since Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Jovic, Ismael Bennacer, and Alessandro Florenzi were all out with injuries, Swiss forward Noah Okafor's calf issue has further delayed his return to Milan until next month.
Following his first senior start against Genoa, 17-year-old Mattia Liberali may be benched, and it is unclear whether normal starting left defender Theo Hernandez, who has been linked with Manchester United, would be recalled. Jimenez is a youngster from Spain.
With the captaincy bestowed upon him in their most recent match, the mercurial winger Rafael Leao will want to add to his modest three goals this season, all of which have been scored away from home.
In the Italian Serie A, Daniel Mosquera of Verona has surpassed Jhon Duran of Colombia, known as a "super-sub" in England, with four goals scored while coming off the bench after a late goal at Parma.
Although he may be given an unusual opportunity to start up front, he will have competition from Amin Sarr, Dailon Livramento, and Casper Tengstedt. Tengstedt was benched at Stadio Tardini due to a little calf problem.
Due to injuries, Juan Cruz and Martin Frese will not be able to play for the hosts. Additionally, Abdou Harroui will not be able to play after suffering a season-ending ACL tear while setting up two goals last weekend.
Our Predictions
AC Milan to win @ 1.62 on Sky247.ng
Even though Milan would be in the league's cellar based on their away record alone, they should still come away from their brief trip to Verona with a much-needed victory.
The home team at Stadio Bentegodi is letting in goals at a rate close to three per game.
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