AC MILAN v GENOA: MATCH PREVIEW

540 minutes until the league season comes to an end. Points are critical, the tension continues to rise and motivation is sky-high. AC Milan and Genoa are ready to face each other at a packed San Siro on Good Friday. It’s a vital match for both teams, with the Rossoneri hoping to start to build momentum again after two consecutive draws and maintain their position at the top of the table. Here’s our Match Preview ahead of tonight’s 21:00 CEST kick-off.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
With the draw against Torino now a thing of the past, there’s some good news to report. Ismaël Bennacer and Ante Rebić, who both missed Sunday’s game at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, are back available again. Coach Pioli thus has more options to choose from, even if Romagnoli, Ibrahimović, Castillejo, Florenzi and Kjær will all be absent. The backline is likely to remain the same (Calabria-Kalulu-Tomori-Hernández), with Saelemaekers also favourite to start on the right. Kessie and Díaz (the latter of whom is a booking away from suspension) are both in contention to play in the attacking midfield role.

"We’ve worked with great motivation and conviction: we know we have to give more," said Coach Pioli on the eve of the showdown. "Genoa defend well and play a simple yet effective game. I think the result will mostly depend on the speed and tempo with which we produce certain pieces of play. We possess the qualities to win tomorrow. It isn’t the time to draw conclusions: we’ll take stock at the end."

LATEST FROM GENOA
Defeats to Hellas Verona and Lazio in the last two matchdays put an end to the Rossoblù’s eight-game unbeaten run following the arrival of German coach Alexander Blessin. Nevertheless, Genoa are still in with a shot of avoiding the drop, with 17th-place Cagliari sitting just three points ahead of them. Given their fixture list and some of the absences they have, it'll be a difficult feat to achieve, however. Indeed, Buksa, Rovella and Vanheusden are all out. Meanwhile, Cambiaso and Sturaro are making good progress with their recoveries. Blessin is likely to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, as he did against Lazio. Against the Biancocelesti, Sirigu lined up in goal, with the backline consisting of Hefti, Maksimović, Østigård and Vásquez. Galdames and Badelj were selected as the defensive midfielders behind the trio of Melegoni, Amiri and Portanova (the latter of whom will be suspended for Genoa’s next match if he receives a yellow card). Piccoli was the lone striker, although former Rossoneri man Mattia Destro is very much in contention to start at San Siro.

"Against Hellas Verona and Lazio, we gave our opponents a lot of gifts; we must try to avoid doing this and even create one or two more chances ourselves," said Blessin on the eve of the game. "Playing against a great team like AC Milan is always a welcome challenge. They’ll be the favourites, but we’ll go to San Siro intent on playing our own game. Even during the 0-0 draws against Bologna and Torino, the Rossoneri never lost their shape or balance; we’ll need to be compact and play well as a team."

PRE-MATCH
AC Milan and Genoa are set to meet for the third time this season after the Rossoneri’s away win in the league and home triumph in the Coppa Italia. However, the Diavolo are yet to come up against a Grifone side coached by Blessin: Andriy Shevchenko was the man in the Genoa dugout the last two times the teams faced each other. It’s a very important game for both sides: the visitors are looking for points in their fight to avoid the drop, while AC Milan are hoping to consolidate top position and – following two successive goalless draws – find the net again in the process. Previous encounters have tended to be eventful affairs, with the Rossoneri having scored in 21 of their last 22 home games against Genoa in Serie A. None of the last ten matches between the sides in the second half of the season have ended in draws (eight AC Milan victories).

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Daniele Chiffi will be the referee this evening. He’s taken charge of four AC Milan fixtures so far this season: the home wins over Lazio, Roma, Sampdoria and Empoli. As for Genoa, he’s refereed three games involving the Rossoblù in 2021/22, the last of which was their 0-0 draw against Inter on 25 February. The linesmen will be Bottegoni and Vecchi, while Rapuano will perform the role of fourth official. Orsato, along with Passeri, will oversee VAR.

Matchday 33 will take place across today, tomorrow and Easter Monday. Spezia v Inter will kick things off at 19:00 CEST this evening. On Saturday, the following games will be played (all times CEST): Cagliari v Sassuolo (12:30), Udinese v Empoli and Sampdoria v Salernitana (14:30), Fiorentina v Venezia (16:30), Juventus v Bologna (18:30) and Lazio v Torino (20:45). Finally, on Monday, Napoli v Roma (19:00) and Atalanta v Hellas Verona (21:00) are in store.

This is the current league table: AC Milan 68; Inter*, Napoli 66; Juventus 62; Roma 57; Lazio 55; Fiorentina* 53; Atalanta* 51; Sassuolo 46; Hellas Verona 45; Torino* 39; Udinese** 36; Bologna*, Empoli 34; Spezia 33; Sampdoria 29; Cagliari 25; Venezia*, Genoa 22; Salernitana** 16. (* one game in hand; ** two games in hand) 

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