Serie A: Is it a Little Too Late for AC Milan in the Scudetto Race?

Monza vs AC Milan

With Inter Milan pulling away in the Serie A title race, everybody else is seemingly fighting for second place. But don’t tell that to their inter-city rivals, AC Milan, who are aiming to keep up the pressure.

AC Milan are currently third in the Italian top-flight table, but they have a chance to move to second if they win again on Sunday.

It’s been a busy week indeed for Stefano Pioli’s men, as they’re about to play their third match in seven days when they’ll visit Monza at the Brianteo Stadium, but they won’t use it as an excuse.

Monza, meanwhile, are eight places below their visitors and are unbeaten in their last three league games. And Raffaele Palladino’s side has fresher legs, so AC Milan can ill-afford to be complacent.

Talking Points

Monza need more goals

To their credit, Monza have proven that they’re a tough nut to crack because they’ve secured a clean sheet in each of their last three league games, beating Sassuolo 1-0 while holding Udinese and Hellas Verona to goalless draws.

However, if Raffaele Palladino’s men want to move up to the top half of the table, they must find the back of the net regularly, and so far, their chances have only come few and far between.

Andrea Colpani is their most reliable forward so far this season with seven goals and two assists in Serie A. Because he offers a lot of upside since he’s just 24 years old, he was once coveted by rival teams during the winter transfer window.

With Samuele Vignato and Gianluca Caprari sidelined due to injuries, Colpani may be asked to shoulder the heavy load on offence once again.

Raffaele Palladino might want to bring in Milan Đurić into the starting XI for the second time since his January arrival, replacing the out-of-form Lorenzo Colombo, just to mix things up in the final third.

AC Milan firing in the final third

In stark contrast, AC Milan have been on a roll, as they’ve now scored 22 goals in nine matches across all competitions this year, silencing Stefano Pioli’s critics in the process.

Following their five-goal thriller against Frosinone filled with Serie A 2024 highlights, AC Milan scored one goal to beat Napoli and three goals against Rennes in the first leg of their Europa League knockout phase matchup.

Theo Hernandez scored the marginal goal (his fourth league goal of the campaign) against I Partenopei, which moved him to within three of Paolo Maldini in the Rossoneri’s all-time scoring list for defenders.

After that, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (brace) and Rafael Leao put three past their Ligue 1 counterparts. The two have combined for 12 goals and eight assists this term.

Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud is still searching for his 20^th Serie A goal involvement of the season. As of this writing, the 37-year-old leads the team with 11 goals and eight assists.

History

AC Milan have yet to lose against Monza here in Serie A. In their last three encounters, the Rossoneri outscored the Biancorossi with an aggregate tally of 7-2. As a result, Monza have yet to collect any Serie A points in this particular fixture.

Should Monza lose again this weekend, they will become the fifth team that AC Milan have beaten in each of their first four Italian top-flight meetings, alongside Ancona, Cremonese, Messina, and Pro Vercelli.

Monza have yet to win a Serie A game against an opponent in the top half of the table this season, only gathering four points in these matches (D4, L7).

The Rossoneri have scored exactly three goals in each of their last three Serie A road games (vs. Empoli, Udinese, and Frosinone). AC Milan have never scored more than twice in four consecutive away games in a single Serie A campaign.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Serie A 2024 odds have AC Milan completing a league double over Monza for the second consecutive season. The Rossoneri are 1.81 favourites, while the Biancorossi are 4.00 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.

Given how their reverse fixture went, it feels like Monza are in for another long night against their top four counterparts. So, other than our recommended bet above, you might have to consider alternatives like Over 2.75 at 2.19 and Total Goal 4-6 at 3.36, while Total Goal 2-3 at 1.91 is probably the safest bet. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 3-0 in favour of the visitors – the result of their previous league meeting – is being offered at a whopping 15.50.

 

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