Atalanta v AC Milan – Preview: Inzaghi looking to depart on a high

Date: 29th May 2015 at 8:30am
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Filippo Inzaghi will take his struggling AC Milan squad to the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia in Bergamo to face Atalanta on Saturday evening for this season’s final Serie A fixture for both clubs.

The Rossoneri are currently adrift of Serie A’s elite in tenth place in the league standings, while Inzaghi is unlikely to last beyond the end of what has been a disastrous first season as a head coach for the former striker.

La Dea have spent the majority of the season battling relegation, with Edy Reja’s side eventually securing survival at the expense of Serie B bound Cagliari, Cesena and Parma.

Earlier this season the Nerazzurri claimed a valuable 1-0 victory against Inzaghi’s Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza thanks to a first-half strike from Argentine striker German Denis.

Cristian Raimondi and Marcelo Estigarribia remain sidelined for the hosts, with Reja set to field a similar line-up to the one which earned a draw at Chievo last weekend. The club can once again call upon Giulio Migliaccio, Carlos Carmona and Mauricio Pinilla following suspension. German Denis returns from injury.

Jeremy Menez returns from suspension to bolster Milan’s attacking options while Cristian Zaccardo takes the Frenchman’s place on the suspension list following his red card against Torino. Inzaghi is likely to continue with a 4-3-3 system with Keisuke Honda included in the attacking trio from the start.

Menez remains Milan’s top goalscorer this season with 16 league goals, while Atalanta’s Pinilla will enter double figures for the season if he finds the net on Saturday.

Atalanta have won the last two meetings between the sides by a single goal margin, while Milan’s last win in this fixture came back in January 2014 with Kaka scoring twice during a 3-0 victory.

Form Guide: Atalanta (D-D-D-W-L-D), AC Milan (L-L-L-W-L-W)

Expected Starting XIs

Atalanta: Sportiello; Zappacosta, Benalouane, Masiello, Del Grosso; Carmona, Cigarini, Baselli; Moralez; Pinilla, A.Gomez.

AC Milan: Diego Lopez; Zapata, Mexes, Paletta, Bocchetti; Poli, De Jong, van Ginkel; Honda, Pazzini, Menez.

 

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