AC Milan host Roma in the final round of the season at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday evening, with both sides looking to secure their places in Europe for 2016-17.
Sitting seventh in the Serie A table with 57 points, the Rossoneri are one point behind Sassuolo and they need a win to have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League via league positioning. Anything less will mean that Milan will need to beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final on May 21.
Roma, meanwhile, are currently in third place with 77 points and as it stands will be in the Champions League play-offs for 2016-17. They must beat the Rossoneri and hope Napoli drop points against Frosinone in order to qualify automatically for Europe’s premier competition. The Giallorossi are the most prolific side in Serie A scoring 80 goals in 37 games this season.
Milan have continued to stutter since coach Cristian Brocchi took the helm, with just a pair of victories over their last five matches. Roma on the other hand, go into this fixture as the in-form team with four consecutive victories. The Diavolo needed a penalty to beat 10-man Bologna 1-0, while the Lupi secured a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Chievo.
When these two teams played each other in Week 19, they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. AC Milan’s latest victory in this fixture was a 2-1 win in May 2015 while Roma got their last triumph against the Diavolo in April 2014, winning 2-0 at home.
There are only a few combined absentees heading into this game. Luca Antonelli is out for the Rossoneri with a calf injury and Jeremy Menez is a doubt with back problems. M’baye Niang makes his return to the substitute’s bench but is unlikely to feature. Giallorossi coach Luciano Spalletti will likely be forced to make do without Seydou Keita who is a doubt with an ankle injury.
Form Guide: AC Milan (W-D-L-D-W) Roma (D-W-W-W-W)
Expected Starting XIs:
AC Milan: Donnarumma; Abate, Alex, Romagnoli, De Sciglio; Kucka, Montolivo, Mauri; Bonaventura; Bacca, Balotelli
Roma: Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne; Pjanic, De Rossi; Salah, Nainggolan, Perotti, El Shaarawy
