Serie A Preview: Milan vs Hellas Verona – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at Stadio San Siro as title-bidding Milan take on a resurgent Hellas Verona side. Back to their league duties after a disappointing trip to Saudi Arabia, Massimiliano Allegri’s team will be out to erase the memory of a dismal Supercoppa Italiana performance.

Milan failed to defend their Supercoppa crown in Riyadh, as Napoli beat them 2-0 in a one-sided semi-final tie at the King Saud University Stadium. However, the Rossoneri have gone from strength to strength in Serie A since an embarrassing 2-1 home loss to newly promoted Cremonese on the opening weekend.

Indeed, Allegri’s men have gone unbeaten in 14 consecutive league games (W9, D5), including a goal-glutted 2-2 home draw against Sassuolo last time out. Despite that dominant run, Milan headed into their Supercoppa journey a point adrift of pacesetters Inter and only one clearr of reigning holders Napoli.

Though the visitors fight on the other side of the table, they enter this round in high spirits after overcoming more esteemed Atalanta and Fiorentina their last two matches. Yet, they still reside in the relegation zone, albeit only two points behind 17th-placed Genoa.

Buoyed by a noticeable turnaround, Verona will seek a third consecutive victory, having failed to win their first 13 league outings beforehand (D6, L7). With the odds heavily stacked against them here, achieving that feat could prove easier said than done.

Match Preview

Milan

Napoli denied Allegri a chance to win silverware on his return to San Siro, but the Scduetto might still be heading Milan’s way. Without the distraction of other competitions, Milan can focus on lifting a long-awaited 20th title in Italy’s top flight under the manager who helped them win their 18th trophy.

Furthermore, Milan are enjoying their longest unbeaten Serie A streak since a run of 22 in 2021/22 when they last won the Scudetto. That’s not the only good omen here, considering the hosts have stitched together an eight-game unbeaten home streak since losing to Cremonese in August.

Milan had been quick out of the blocks at the beginning of the season, yet they’ve not been in front at halftime in any of their last six games. Still, connoisseurs of action-packed football should look forward to this fixture, knowing that Milan’s seven home matches have featured over 2.5 goals.

Hellas Verona

Despite defying the odds in the last two games to double their points tally, Verona have not moved away from trouble. Moreover, head coach Paolo Zanetti is not out of the woods yet, as the visitors aim to post three successive top-flight victories in the regular season for the first time since October 2013.

Achieving that feat requires the Gialloblu to win back-to-back away league contests for the first time since last December. However, they must buck a disastrous trend, which has seen them lose nine meetings with Milan on the trot, conceding at least two goals on six occasions.

Late lapses in concentration have often been Verona’s undoing this term, with Zanetti’s side conceding a league-high eight goals beyond the 75th minute so far. It’s also worth noting that they’re the only team alongside Cagliari yet to score inside the opening 15 minutes this season.

Team News

In addition to long-term absentee Santiago Gimenez, Milan will be without first-choice center-back Matteo Gabbia, with Koni De Winter expected to take his place. On the bright side, standout forward Rafael Leao has resumed full training after a minor injury setback, though he should start on the bench.

As for Verona, Tomas Suslov remains in the pits with a knee injury, while Zanetti cannot call upon Martin Frese due to suspension. Star wingback Rafik Belghali is away on international duty with Algeria, which opens space for Nicolas Valentini to make a rare start this season.

Milan vs Hellas Verona Potential Starting Lineups

Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, De Wintr, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Rabiot; Bartesaghi; Nkunku, Pulisic.

Hellas Verona (3-5-2): Montipo; Nunez, Nelsson, Bella; Valentini, Niasse, Gagliardini, Bernede, Al Musrati; Orban, Mosquera.

Milan vs Hellas Verona Prediction

Verona’s mini-revival should not faze Milan too much, yet the hosts would be naive to take anything for granted. Indeed, they’ve been prone to dropping points against ‘smaller’ teams this season.

However, we expect Milan to get back on track and bounce back from last week’s heartbreak in Riyadh.