Serie A PREVIEW | Udinese v Milan

After getting held to a frustrating draw versus Salernitana in their last league outing, Milan will aim to return back to winning ways when they face Udinese today evening at the Dacia Arena. 

The Rossoneri have been unable to pick up a win in March, with their last victory coming at the end of February against Atalanta. Since then, Fiorentina have inflicted a defeat to Milan, preventing them to cement their top four hopes, and Pioli’s men followed that up with a draw against Tottenham in the Champions League and the recent stalemate against lowly Salernitana. 

Striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in added time of the first half helping Milan take a slender lead at the break. However, the Rossoneri couldn’t pull through and conceded in the 61st minute from Boulaye Dia. The scores stayed the same and stretched Milan’s winless record to three games in a row across all competitions.

The hosts, Udinese, fell out of favour after starting the season on a high. With just one win in their last seven matches, the Friulani are currently 11th in the league standings.

Andrea Sottil’s side will aim to add to their momentum by securing a win today after picking up a well-grinded-out victory in their last match against Empoli. Rodrigo Becao’s only goal stood the difference as they grabbed the three points for the first time since January.

While they will look to move up the table and finish the season in the top half, their expectations are achievable as they have been quite compact in their defence as a mid-table outfit. 

Results from their last five matches across all competitions

Udinese:

W D D L D

Milan:

D D L W W

Team News

The hosts are set to miss Gerard Deulofeu and Enzo Ebosse who are out with long-term injuries.

Rodrigo Becao will aim to continue his goalscoring run after netting the winner against Empoli; he has scored three times against Milan and coach Andrea Sottil will hope that his player can extend his run against today’s opponents. 

As for Milan, Junior Messias is unavailable due to injury. Sandro Tonali is expected to feature today after Milan fielded a no-Italian player starting eleven for the first time in their history against The Granata. 

Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be awarded an appearance in today’s fixture after getting called by the Sweden National Team at the age of 41 years. 

Predicted XIs

Udinese (3-5-1-1): Silvestri; Becao, Bijol, Perez; Ehizibue, Arslan, Walace, Lovric, Udogie; Pereyra; Beto

Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Kalulu, Thiaw, Tomori; Saelemaekers, Bennacer, Tonali, Hernandez; Diaz, Rebic; Leao

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN