Serie A Preview: Milan vs Atalanta – Team News, Lineups & Prediction
Serie A Preview: Milan vs Atalanta – Team News, Lineups & Prediction Stadio San Siro sets the stage for a ‘make or break’ Serie A showdown between top-four hopefuls Milan and out-of-form Atalanta. Milan’s season is at risk of fizzling out, with the Rossoneri running out of steam down the final stretch. Fikayo Tomori’s first-half expulsion heavily contributed to Milan’s disappointing 2-0 defeat at mid-table Sassuolo last weekend, with Massimiliano Allegri’s side suffering their third loss in five league matches (W1, D1).
With Juventus squeaking past Lecce yesterday, they’ve now leapfrogged Milan in the standings, heightening the pressure on the 19-time champions ahead of this clash. Roma could intensify that pressure with a win at Parma earlier today, but it’ll eventually all come down to whether Milan can hold up their end of the bargain against Atalanta. Indeed, they still boast a three-point lead over the fifth-placed Giallorossi, meaning they remain in firm control of their top-four destiny, unlike Atalanta, whose European ambitions are effectively out of their hands.
A string of underwhelming results, bookended by a scoreless home draw against bottom-half Genoa last time out, has left Raffaele Palladino’s team on the precipice of missing out on European football for the first time since the 2022/23 season. Lazio denied La Dea an alternate route to continental qualification by beating them in the Coppa Italia semi-finals last month. With seven points separating them from sixth-placed Como at the start of the round, anything other than a win at San Siro will spell the end of their European hopes.
Match Preview Milan Aware of the full-blown crisis in his midst, Allegri called an emergency meeting this week, hoping to stem the bleeding, as Milan had lost as many games in their last five league matches (3) as throughout the rest of the Serie A campaign combined. Now would be a perfect time for the Rossoneri to get back on track, yet their recent record against Atalanta cannot inspire confidence. A 1-1 draw in October’s reverse fixture stretched Milan’s winless streak against La Dea to five Serie A matches (D2, L3).
Furthermore, they’ve emerged victorious from only two of their last 11 top-flight encounters at San Siro (D5, L4), underscoring the magnitude of the task ahead. However, they must secure their first home win over Atalanta since February 2023 if they’re to keep Roma at bay. That could prove easier said than done given the hosts’ spectacular downfall in recent weeks.
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