AC MILAN V SAMPDORIA: MATCH PREVIEW

A return to Serie A, with San Siro once again the venue. On matchday 25 in the Italian top flight, AC Milan and Sampdoria will face each other at 12:30 CET. On the last three occasions that the two teams have met at this kick-off time, the Rossoneri haven’t fared so well, with the Blucerchiati winning two of these games and the other one ending in a draw. Nevertheless, the Diavolo want to build on their comeback victory in the Derby as they look to really gain momentum in the league. As for Sampdoria, they’re heading into today’s game on the back of a 4-0 home win against Sassuolo. Here’s our Match Preview, providing you with everything you need to know ahead of kick-off.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The Rossoneri will take on Samp without Theo Hernández, who has just renewed his contract until 2026 but is suspended for the matchday 25 clash. Having been involved in the Africa Cup of Nations, where he picked up an injury, Fodé Ballo-Touré returned to Milanello a few days ago. The Senegalese hasn’t trained much with the group, which is why Davide Calabria is likely to get the nod on the left flank. Meanwhile, Alessandro Florenzi is expected to line up on the right. A month on from coming off injured in the Coppa Italia against Genoa, Fikayo Tomori is in contention to start. Zlatan Ibrahimović and Simon Kjær are definitely out, while Matteo Gabbia is a doubt due to a foot problem.

"The team has more confidence and maturity now than they did one or two years ago, which is a normal development," said Pioli during his pre-match press conference. "We're a young side but we've grown a lot. Now, though, the only thing that matters is the game tomorrow, which will be tough. We're coming up against a team that beat Sassuolo on Sunday."

LATEST FROM SAMPDORIA
Having missed Sampdoria’s convincing win over Sassuolo due to suspension, Ekdal is back available, although he still might not make the starting eleven. Giampaolo won’t have Yoshida, Asklidsen, Gabbiadini, Damsgaard and Giovinco at his disposal, with the latter out due to a calf problem. Four Blucerchiati are one booking away from suspension: Bereszyński, Candreva, Murru and Thorsby. Samp are expected to take to the pitch in a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Sensi lining up behind the forward duo of Caputo and Quagliarella. Candreva is likely to be asked to play as a mezzala.

"AC Milan are a strong team with a lot of confidence. They have a certain way of attacking and a certain way of defending," said Giampaolo ahead of the game. "Their heads will be up after some great results. We know their qualities and their few slight weaknesses but we’ll need to play our own game."

PRE-MATCH
The Rossoneri and Blucerchiati have met each other at 12:30 on three occasions in Serie A, and AC Milan haven’t won any of them: two defeats in 2017 and a draw (1-1) in April 2021 at San Siro. In general, however, the Diavolo have done well in 12:30 kick-offs in recent times, winning four out of their last five lunchtime fixtures in Serie A (D1) and scoring at least two goals in every victory. This is as many wins as they’d picked up in their previous 19 encounters at this time.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Daniele Chiffi will be the man in the middle for the San Siro showdown. Chiffi has refereed five matches involving the Rossoneri in Serie A (W3, D1, L1), the last of which took place on 6 January 2022: AC Milan 3-1 Roma. He’s taken charge of four Sampdoria games, although the last one was over a year ago.

Matchday 25 in Serie A kicked off with Lazio v Bologna, Napoli v Inter and Torino v Venezia yesterday. The action on Sunday will begin with AC Milan v Samp at San Siro, after which three matches will take place at 15:00 CET: Hellas Verona v Udinese, Empoli v Cagliari and Genoa v Salernitana. Sassuolo v Roma is scheduled for 18:00 CET and Atalanta v Juventus at 20:45 CET.  Spezia v Fiorentina will finish things off at 20:45 CET on Monday evening.

These are the current standings:  Inter 54*, Napoli 53, Milan 52*, Juventus 45*, Atalanta 43**, Lazio 42, Roma 39*, Fiorentina** 36, Hellas Verona 33*, Torino 32*, Empoli 30*, Sassuolo 29*, Bologna 28*, Udinese** 27, Spezia* 26,  Sampdoria* 23, Venezia* 21, Cagliari* 20, Genoa 14*, Salernitana** 11. (* one game in hand, ** two games in hand).

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