AC MILAN v MONZA: MATCH PREVIEW

Now for consistency. Following the bittersweet victory over Newcastle, a long period dedicated to domestic competitions is now in store. It'll begin with AC Milan v Monza, for the first time without Silvio Berlusconi. The lunchtime kick-off is a chance to return to winning ways in Serie A, too. Before their trip to England, the Rossoneri suffered a late defeat to Atalanta in Bergamo, but now Coach Pioli's men have an opportunity to add to a two-game winning streak at home following their previous victories over Fiorentina and Frosinone. Here is our Match Preview, which will provide you with everything you need to know ahead of the clash.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
AC Milan will resume their European journey in the Europa League in February. Now, however, all energies must be focused on Serie A to gain ground in the table. Compared to the team's last league outing, Leão and Okafor - both decisive in the Champions League - will be back available to Coach Pioli, who will have also been pleased to see Simon Kjær return to group training in the past few days. The Dane or the youngster Jan-Carlo Simić will start at centre-back. Yunus Musah isn't fully fit and won't be involved, leaving the door open for Bennacer to play as a starter. Meanwhile, Calabria is suspended. Pioli has a fully fit attack to choose from and could rotate things up front, with the trio that decided the clash at St James' Park (Okafor-Jović-Chukwueze) raring to start and make a difference again.

Coach Pioli didn't hold a pre-match press conference, but Fik Tomori had the following to say in an interview with Milan TV: "We need to bring the feeling from the Newcastle game into our next match. We faced Monza during pre-season and know that they're very good on the ball; it'll be a very difficult game. We're nine points behind first place, but there's still a long way to go. If we stay focused on ourselves, anything can happen."

LATEST FROM MONZA
The attacking duo of Mota and Colombo will certainly provide a threat for the Brianzoli, as will Colpani - one of Monza's best performers so far this season - behind them. Caldirola and Marí (the only player walking the suspension tightrope) are set to return in defence after missing their team's 1-0 victory over Genoa at the Brianteo. D'Ambrosio will join them in front of goalkeeper Di Gregorio, who is in excellent form. Monza's biggest absentee is Caprari, who remains out with a bad knee injury. There shouldn't be any changes in midfield, which will consist of Kyriakopoulos and Ciurria on the flanks and Pessina and Gagliardini in the middle. With two wins, two draws and three defeats to their name, the Brianzoli have a mixed away record so far, but their last loss on the road arrived on 22 October against Roma.

Raffaele Palladino's comments on the eve of the game: "We're in a good position in the table and have had an excellent week, but we need to keep our feet on the ground. It'll be the first time we face AC Milan without President Berlusconi, but, as he often said, "those who believe will fight and win". He was very ambitious, and we need to go forward with this mentality."

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

• AC Milan have won both of their fixtures against Monza in Serie A; only Atalanta have recorded three victories out of three over the Brianzoli in the Italian top flight.
• After four consecutive wins in 12:30 kick-offs in Serie A, AC Milan lost their most recent match at this time (against Sassuolo). Monza, meanwhile, are unbeaten in four of the five Serie A games they've placed at 12:30 (W2, D2); their only defeat arrived against Roma on 22 October.
• AC Milan and Monza are two of the four teams with the highest pass completion rate during the current campaign: 86.4% for the Brianzoli; 86.2% for the Rossoneri. They only trail Napoli and Inter (both 87%) in this regard.
• Christian Pulisic has been involved in eight goals (five goals and three assists) in his first 13 AC Milan appearances in the league. Out of those who have debuted in Serie A since 2004/05, only four have reached at least ten goal contributions in their very first 14 Rossoneri matches: Gilardino (10), Ronaldo (11), Balotelli (13) and Ibrahimović (14).

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN v MONZA ON TV
In Italy, the match will be broadcast by DAZN and Sky Sport. To watch AC Milan v Monza in a different country, you can consult the "AC Milan on TV" webpage, by clicking on the heading "Abroad". On the Rossoneri channels, Milan TV will provide live matchday coverage starting from 11:30 CET and continuing up until shortly before kick-off. After full-time, there will be interviews and Coach Pioli's press conference. From 12:25 CET, there will also be our Live Reaction show on our Twitch channel. Also, not to be missed is the coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App and our official social media profiles.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Gianluca Aureliano will take charge of AC Milan v Monza. The 43-year-old has refereed both sides on two occasions. He most recently encountered the Rossoneri in their 3-1 victory over Empoli on 1 October 2022. His last match involving Monza was also against the Azzurri on 26 August, with the Brianzoli recording a 2-0 home victory that day. Scarpa and Yoshikawa will be assistants, while Airoldi will perform the role of fourth official. Paterna, assisted by Mazzoleni, will oversee VAR.

Four matches have already been played on matchday 16 in Serie A: it finished Genoa 1-1 Juventus on Friday 15 December, while yesterday's results were as follows: Lecce 2-1 Frosinone, Napoli 2-1 Cagliari and Torino 1-0 Empoli. AC Milan v Monza will kick off a day of action that will see Udinese v Sassuolo (15:00 CET) Fiorentina v Hellas Verona (15:00 CET), Bologna v Roma (18:00 CET) and Lazio v Inter (20:45 CET) all take place. The latest round of fixtures will come to an end with Atalanta v Salernitana at 20:45 CET on Monday.  

This is the current league table: Inter 38; Juventus* 36; AC Milan 29; Napoli* 27; Roma and Bologna 25; Fiorentina 24; Atalanta and Torino* 23; Monza and Lazio 21; Lecce* 20; Frosinone* 19; Genoa* and Sassuolo 15; Cagliari* 13; Udinese and Empoli* 12; Hellas Verona 11; Salernitana 8. (* = one more game played)

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