AC Milan will be eager to continue their early 2016 form when they welcome Genoa to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday.
Despite a small speed-bump in last week’s 1-1 draw with Udinese, the Rossoneri have won five of their last seven games and will be looking to accelerate towards Serie A’s top three.
Having increased the gap over both Empoli and Sassuolo to six points, Milan remain four points behind fifth-placed Roma and will be aiming to take three points against the 17th-placed visitors.
The Grifone have, however, shown some improved form since the Christmas break, despite standing just six points away from the relegation zone.
Since their 3-2 derby loss to Sampdoria, the Rossoblu have lost just one of their six fixtures which was a 1-0 loss to Juventus.
While displaying some defensive resilience, goals remain an issue for Gian Piero Gasperini’s men who have not scored in over 340 minutes of football.
The visitors head-to-head record against the Milan giants may give them the confidence to find that allusive goal, having won their last three fixtures against their more-fancied opponents.
Of course these results included last season’s corresponding fixture which Genoa won 3-1 in a match that saw Philippe Mexes see red while M’Baye Niang scored for the Grifone against his current team.
In this season’s early match-up between the two sides, the Ligurians claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to a 10th minute Blerim Dzemaili goal.
Sinisa Mihajlovic welcomes back Giacomo Bonaventura who missed last week’s clash with Udinese due to a hip injury, however loses the services of Juraj Kucha for at least one week.
Meanwhile, Gasperini’s struggles up front have been dealt a brutal blow with their leading goalscorer, Leonardo Pavoletti, being ruled out for up to six weeks due to a hamstring injury.
Adding to their travelling woes, Genoa will be without defender Cristian Ansaldi, also out with a hamstring injury, while Tomas Rincon serves a one-match suspension.
Form Guide: AC Milan (W-D-W-W-D) Genoa (W-W-D-D-L-D)
Expected Starting XIs:
AC Milan: Donnarumma; Abate, Alex, Romagnoli, Antonelli; Honda, Montolivo, Bertolacci, Bonaventura; Bacca, Balotelli.
Genoa: Perin; Munoz, Burdisso, Izzo; Fiamozzi, Rigoni, Dzemaili, Gabriel Silva; Tachtsidis; Cerci, Matavz
Infographic Courtesy of Sporticos.com
