Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Prediction: AC Milan vs Hellas Verona

Veselin Trajkovic in Free Soccer Predictions 3 Jun 2023

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Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 10/13

Bookmaker: BetUS

The season comes to a close in the Serie A on Sunday evening, when the final round is to be played. With Napoli already having the title safely in their hands and the remaining Champions League places already settled, Atalanta (at home against Monza), Roma (at home against Spezia) and Juventus (away to Udinese) are racing to determine who goes into which of the two lower-ranked UEFA competitions.

Roma’s match will probably be the most interesting one as Spezia also have a lot to play for, striving to avoid relegation. In that battle, their rival is Hellas Verona, who travel to face AC Milan.

AC Milan

As has been said, the top four race is over. Milan have made it and will be playing in the Champions League next term, having been knocked out in the 2022/23 semifinals by city rivals Inter. All that this game will decide is the way Lazio, Inter and Milan are arranged at the end. Lazio sit second with 71 points going into the final round, Inter third with 69, and Milan fourth with 67.

Stefano Pioli’s team appear to have gotten over the shock of that Champions League exit, winning the two matches played since in a notable fashion: they smashed bottom side Sampdoria by 5-1 at home, and triumphed over Juventus in Turin by 0-1, courtesy of a goal by Olivier Giroud in the 40th minute. Their last-six run in all competitions, however, stretches back to early May when they beat Lazio at home by 2-0, followed by a 0-2 defeat in the first leg against Inter in the Champions League semifinals, a 2-0 loss away to Spezia, and a 1-0 loss in the second leg against Inter. Milan will probably feel they still have something to prove, and they won’t be too sympathetic towards the predicament of their opponents on Sunday.

The biggest news regarding the Rossoneri these days is Raphael Leao making his decision to rebuff interest from elsewhere and stay put by signing a new contract, set to keep him at San Siro until the summer of 2028. The Portuguese winger is by far Milan’s most in-demand player, and their efforts to convince him that there’s plenty for him to win with this great club have obviously produced results.

Team News

Only the two long-term absentees, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Ismael Bennacer are unavailable from Pioli’s squad.

Despite a place in next season’s Champions League being already secured, Pioli will likely name a strong starting XI as his team aim to finish the campaign on a high and hope to snatch that third place from Inter, who have the Champions League final against Manchester City next week to think about.

With Mike Maignan in goal, the back line should be formed by Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw as the centre backs, flanked by Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez. Rade Krunic should join Sandro Tonali in the middle of the park, while Leao, Brahim Diaz and Junior Messias support Giroud upfront.

Hellas Verona

Meanwhile, Verona will look to get something from this game too, hoping for a Roma victory over Spezia to help them avoid a relegation play-off against the latter. At the moment, the two teams share places 17 and 18, with 16th-place Lecce already safe, and relegation confirmed for Cremonese and Sampdoria in the last two spots.

Verona’s greatest fear, however, will be a straight relegation if they don’t get a result to at least match that of Spezia in the Italian capital.

Marco Zaffaroni’s team haven’t had a great run of form recently, losing three, drawing two and winning just one of their last six matches, all in the Serie A. The run started with a 1-1 draw away to Cremonese, followed by a 0-6 thrashing suffered at home at the hands of Inter, a 0-1 win away to Lecce, a 0-1 defeat at home to Torino, a 3-1 defeat away to Atalanta, and a 1-1 draw at home against Empoli last week.

They were very close to winning that game as Adolfo Gaich struck to give them a lead in the 60th minute, but a last-gasp own-goal from Giangiacomo Magnani meant vital two points were dropped.

Team News

Unlike Pioli, Zaffaroni has a number of injury problems to work around in Milan. Midfielder Ondrej Duda, forwards Kevin Lasagna and Thomas Henry, as well as defender Pawel Dawidowicz, are all unavailable. Midfielder Darko Lazovic and left-back Josh Diog are named as doubts at the moment.

Lorenzo Montipo will be in goal, with Magnani, Isak Hien and Juan Cabal forming the back three. Midfelders Adrien Tameze, Miguel Veloso and Ibrahim Sulemana should have wing-backs Fabio Depaoli and Davide Faraoni out wide. Cyril Ngonge is expected to play closest to striker Milan Djuric.

Conclusion

Milan have been known to underwhelm against teams they really should’ve beaten through superior quality, but it’s not very likely to happen now, right at the finish line. A comprehensive Rossoneri victory is to be expected on Sunday.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 10/13

Bookmaker: BetUS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veselin Trajkovic


Vesko is a football writer that likes to observe the game for what it is, focusing on teams, players and their roles, formations, tactics, rather than stats. He follows the English Premier League closely, Liverpool FC in particular. His articles have been published on seven different football blogs.

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