Serie A | Gameweek 25

Feb 15, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

AC Milan vs Hellas Verona

Match preview

Facing a 1-0 deficit ahead of next week's return leg, Milan lost to Feyenoord in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday night as a disjointed performance left them empty-handed at De Kuip.

Goalkeeper and captain Mike Maignan made a rare mistake in conceding an early goal to the hosts, which ultimately proved enough to condemn his side to defeat in Rotterdam.

The Rossoneri's away woes in the knockout phase continued as they have failed to win any of their last 12 knockout games, failing to score on eight occasions.

The winner of Tuesday's return leg will face either Arsenal or Inter in the last 16, so missing out on a potential Champions League edition of the Derby della Madonnina would be all the more painful for Sergio Conceicao and Co.

First up, Milan will be looking to extend their three-match unbeaten run in Serie A, where they sit seventh - seven points adrift of the top four.

Last Saturday, goals from substitutes Rafael Leao and Santiago Gimenez - the latter making his league debut after signing from Feyenoord - gave the Conceicao side a 2-0 win at Empoli, just days after their Coppa Italia quarter-final win over Roma.

Milan have now won 11 of their last 15 meetings with teams from the bottom six, and have also won all eight of their encounters with Verona.

After a 1-0 home defeat in December, Verona have scored just once in the last three meetings between the two sides and will be keen to get back to winning ways in Milan.

It is worth noting that Hellas have never won away from home in Serie A, having played at the San Siro some 65 times since 1957 without a single victory.

Recent form also suggests that the Gialloblu may be struggling to put an end to this trend, as they were thrashed 5-0 by Atalanta BC last time out: only Southampton and Holstein Kiel have conceded more goals than Paolo Zanetti's men in Europe's top five leagues this season.

A total of 53 is Verona's worst ever tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign, but they are still keeping their heads above water with three points separating them from the relegation zone.

After suffering a run of six consecutive away defeats, Hellas have now lost just one of their last five away games, but history will not be on their side this weekend.

Recent Performance

AC Milan Serie A form:DWLWDW

AC Milan form (all competitions):WLDWWL

Hellas Verona Serie A form:DLLDWL

Team News

After boldly fielding four strikers against Feyenoord, Sergio Conceicao could revert to a more familiar lineup on Saturday night, with Yunus Musah set to return to Milan midfield after serving his suspension.

Emerson Royal (calf), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (thigh), Warren Bondo (muscle) and Alessandro Florenzi (knee) are all sidelined through injury, while Fikayo Tomori serves a one-match ban for his controversial red card at Empoli.

Santiago Gimenez, who scored in each of his first two appearances for the Rossoneri, failed to find the net against his old club on Wednesday, but should still beat Tammy Abraham to the starting berth.

Verona will have key midfielder Ondrej Duda back from suspension, but centre-back Daniele Ghilardi will be missing through suspension.

Suat Serdar, Martin Frese, Abdou Harroui and top scorer Casper Tengstedt, who is out with an ankle sprain, remain sidelined.

In Tengstedt's absence, Daniel Mosquera should continue to lead the Gialloblu attack alongside Lyon loanee Amin Sarr.

Possible starting lineup

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Felix; Gimenez

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Daniliuc, Coppola, Dawidowicz; Tchatchoua, Niasse, Duda, Bradaric; Suslov; Sarr, Mosquera