AC Milan's hopes of securing a Serie A title have all but disappeared after a poor run of results, and they now look to strengthen their pursuit of a top-four finish when they visit Hellas Verona on Friday night.
Milan, once in the title race, have slipped into mid-table following a disappointing sequence of just one win in their last five matches. Meanwhile, Verona managed to break a four-game losing streak with a much-needed victory in their last match.
With their Scudetto dreams hanging by a thread—sitting 11 points behind Inter Milan and 13 adrift of leaders Atalanta—Milan must now focus on securing a spot in the top four. A disheartening goalless draw against Genoa last weekend left them in eighth place, making the Scudetto out of reach for another season.
Under Paulo Fonseca, Milan have only won six of their 15 league games, marking their worst performance at this point in the season since 2019. Speculation around the coach's future continues to grow as his team struggles to find balance between attacking and defending.
Too often, Milan either overcommit and get exposed on the counter or play too defensively and settle for draws—such as last week’s disappointing result against Genoa, even after introducing two promising young players to the starting lineup.
While Milan have managed to keep clean sheets in seven of their last 12 matches, their inconsistency has kept them from challenging the league's top sides. On the positive side, Milan recently secured their fourth consecutive win in the Champions League and progressed to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, so there may still be hope for Fonseca in the knockout stages.
Milan have dominated their recent meetings with Verona, winning the last seven encounters in Serie A and going unbeaten in the last 11. A victory is essential for them at the Stadio Bentegodi to keep their European dreams alive.
For Verona, the situation has been tough this season. They’ve suffered 12 defeats across all competitions, with their most recent loss—a 4-1 thrashing to Empoli—putting even more pressure on manager Paolo Zanetti. However, following that heavy defeat, Zanetti managed to extend his tenure with a surprising 3-2 victory over struggling Parma.
Verona have had a difficult time holding onto leads this season, spending the most time trailing in Serie A—639 minutes in total, with 356 of those minutes at home. Despite that, they managed to take the lead early in their recent victory at Parma, thanks to Diego Coppola's early goal.
Though that win lifted them slightly out of the relegation zone, Verona still face many challenges. They’ve conceded in each of their last 13 league matches and haven't managed back-to-back wins since March. If they are to avoid relegation, there’s much to fix, starting with their defensive fragility.
Friday’s match will be a crucial test for both sides, with Milan needing a win to stay in the hunt for European football and Verona desperate to continue their survival battle.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Milan have already been dealing with a long list of injuries, with Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Jovic, Ismael Bennacer, and Alessandro Florenzi all sidelined. Now, Swiss forward Noah Okafor has also been ruled out until next month due to a calf problem.
It’s still unclear whether Theo Hernandez, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United, will return to the starting lineup after being dropped in favor of Spanish teenager Alex Jimenez last week. After making his first senior start against Genoa, 17-year-old Mattia Liberali might make way for Hernandez.
Rafael Leao, who wore the captain’s armband last time out, will be looking to add to his modest tally of three Serie A goals this season—all of which have come away from home.
Verona’s Daniel Mosquera, who scored a late goal against Parma, has been the most prolific substitute in Serie A with four goals. He could be given a rare chance to start up front, though Amin Sarr, Dailon Livramento, and Casper Tengstedt—who was left on the bench due to a minor calf issue at Parma—are also in the running for a spot.
Verona will be without Juan Cruz and Martin Frese due to injuries, along with Abdou Harroui, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury despite setting up two goals last weekend.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Dawidowicz, Coppola, Ghilardi; Tchatchoua, Duda, Belahyane, Lazovic; Suslov, Tengstedt; Sarr
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Thiaw, Jimenez; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Morata, Leao; Abraham
EXPERT PREDICTION
Hellas Verona 1-3 AC Milan
Milan's away form has been poor enough to place them in the bottom half of the table, but their short trip to Verona should still result in a much-needed victory.
Verona have been leaking goals at an alarming rate, conceding almost three per game at Stadio Bentegodi, and they are struggling to keep their defense intact.
