Chievo v AC Milan – Preview: Rossoneri hoping to make up for lost time

Date: 12th March 2016 at 11:25am
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antonelli ac milan chievoAC Milan will be desperate not to fall further away from European qualification when they visit Chievo at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Sunday afternoon.

The Gialloblu will be happy to find themselves firmly entrenched within the oblivion of the mid-table, currently in 10th place and too far back to challenge for Europe. But, more importantly, well safe from the dangers of relegation. Their counterparts have more to play for, currently sitting in sixth place, four points behind city rivals Inter in the final Europa League spot. Thirteen points currently separate the two sides.

The Flying Donkeys are coming off a 3-1 loss away to Napoli. Coach Rolando Maran will be looking for his men to keep the ball out of their net as six of the club’s nine victories this season have come by way of the clean sheet.

The well has gone dry for the Rossoneri in recent weeks, netting two goals over their last three league matches, highlighted by last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sassuolo. Rumours have been swirling this past week that coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will be sacked at the end of the season. Despite a noticeable improvement in performance over the past couple of months, the former Inter defender will be hoping to see his side climb back into a European qualification position in order to potentially save his job.

Il Diavolo have owned the head-to-head between the two teams, victorious in 20 of the 27 previous fixtures since the 2001/02 season, a span that has seen Chievo emerge victorious only twice, the last coming nearly 11 years ago to the day. Milan won October’s reverse fixture by a score of 1-0 with Luca Antonelli scoring the lone goal.

Neither side are facing suspensions this weekend. Chievo will be forced to make do without the injured Alessandro Gamberini and Roberto Inglese while Milan are without the services of Philippe Mexes, Riccardo Montolivo, Diego Lopez, Rodrigo Ely and M’Baye Niang.

Form Guide: Chievo (W-D-L-W-L) AC Milan (D-W-D-W-L)

Expected Starting XIs:

Chievo: Bizzarri; Cacciatore, Dainelli, Cesar, Gobbi; N.Rigoni, Radovanovic, Castro, Birsa; Meggiorini, Pellissier

AC Milan: Donnarumma; Abate, Alex, Romagnoli, Antonelli; Honda, Kucka, Bertolacci, Bonaventura; Balotelli, Bacca

 

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