Something’s got to give at the Stadio Ferraris on Saturday evening as the Rossoneri travel to Genoa looking to maintain their unbeaten away record, while Sampdoria are yet to taste defeat at the Stadio Ferraris.
The Blucerchiati boast an especially impressive record at home, having conceded only two goals in their five games to date. Despite a recent run of three games without a win, they remain Serie A’s surprise package and go into this match following a 3-1 victory over Fiorentina.
Milan’s last league outing saw them lose at home to Palermo, though Filippo Inzaghi’s side did enjoy a victory over Argentina’s San Lorenzo in a midweek friendly. The Rossoneri have been an exciting proposition on the road so far, and their unbeaten run averages more than four goals per game, boosted in part by their 5-4 victory at Parma. Despite their strong performances on the road this campaign, the Rossoneri are not without their defensive problems on their travels and are yet to keep a clean sheet in an away game.
Saturday’s will be the 66th meeting of these two teams in Genoa, and the visitors hold a slight historical advantage, having won 23 games to the hosts’ 20. Milan are unbeaten away at Sampdoria since 2010, when current Rossoneri striker Giampaolo Pazzini scored a last minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory.
Meanwhile, Sinisa Mihajlovic has a number of injury worries, with Daniele Gastaldello and Djamel Mesbah being slight doubts ahead of Saturday evening’s clash, while Alessio Romagnoli and Matias Silvestre will definitely miss out through injury, along with Angelo Palombo who will miss his first match of the season through suspension.
Rossoneri coach Inzaghi will also have his fair share of injury concerns coming into the game, with doubts surrounding the fitness of Stephan El Shaarawy, Cristian Zapata and to a lesser extent Philippe Mexes and Fernando Torres. Long term absentee Riccardo Montolivo will once again be missing, along with top goalscorer Keisuke Honda and defensive pairing Ignazio Abate and Alex, the latter was substituted just moments into the 2-0 loss against Palermo on Sunday.
Expected Starting XIs
Sampdoria: Romero; De Silvestri, Gastaldello, Cacciatore, Regini; Soriano, Obiang, Duncan; Gabbiadini, Okaka, Eder.
AC Milan: Lopez; Bonera, Rami, Mexes, De Sciglio; Poli, De Jong, Muntari; Bonaventura, Torres, Menez.
