AC MILAN

League position: 2nd
Head coach: Stefano Pioli
Serie A top-scorer: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (seven)

RECENT FORM

MILAN: W L D L W
ROMA: L W W W D

Having gone their first 12 games without defeat in Serie A this season, Milan have lost three out of seven since and trailed league-leading city rivals Inter by four points going into the New Year.

Milan’s recent inconsistency was largely due to a number of injuries to key men and Pioli will be delighted that the likes of Ibrahimovic, Davide Calabria, Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic are now nearing first team returns, although he will be without African Cup of Nations stars Fode Ballo-Toure, Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie.

Roma - who have also seen Ebrima Darboe and Amadou Diawara called-up for AFCON duty - ended 2021 in fine shape, winning three out of their last four games of the year.

The 1-1 draw with Sampdoria was the sole “blip” in the Giallorossi’s run and victory at Milan could lift them into fifth-place, just three points off Atalanta if both they and Juventus slip up this week.

Possible Milan line-up

(4-2-3-1)

Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Romagnoli, Hernandez; Bakayoko, Tonali; Messias, Brahim, Saelemaekers; Giroud

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Zlatan Ibrahimovic

In the reverse fixture this season, Ibrahimovic scored Milan’s opener, won the penalty for their second and had another goal ruled out for offside in a Man of the Match performance.

That helped Milan to a 2-1 win in the height of their early season pomp after his own start to the campaign was hindered by injury.

Football’s very own 40-year-old Benjamin Button missed his side’s final game of last year but is now back in contention and ready to add to his seven goals and two assists in 11 Serie A appearances in 2021-22 thus far.

As noted above, it is widely expected that Olivier Giroud will start in attack but recent reports suggest that Ibrahimovic is also fit to stake his claim and as such, whether from the off or off the bench, he remains a potent threat.

MATCH STATS

The Rossoneri have lost two of their last three home league games (W1, L2), which are as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 13 home matches in the top-flight (W7, D4, L2).

Milan may have won their last two league games against Roma, but they have not beaten the Giallorossi three times in succession since 1996 when they did so under legendary Giallorossi boss Fabio Capello.

Roma have scored 94 away goals against Milan in Serie A, a top-flight club record that is only bettered by their return against their bitter Derby della Capitale rivals Lazio (95).

The Giallorossi have won 19 times away to Milan in the Italian top-flight, making it their fourth most profitable trip in the top division after Lazio (25 wins), Udinese and Bologna (both 21).

PLAYER STATS

• Ibrahimovic has scored 11 goals past Roma in Serie A, and he has netted more braces against the Giallorossi than any other side in the league (four, including three with the Rossoneri).
  
• Nicolo Zaniolo has Serie A strikes against nine different sides, with Fiorentina and Milan (two goals) the teams he has scored against more than once.
  
• This will, however, be Zaniolo’s first appearance against Milan at the San Siro.
  
• Bryan Cristante started his career at Milan, making five appearances and scoring one goal before his time at the club came to an end. Stephan El Shaarawy is another former Milan man and the 29-year-old chalked up 102 matches in red and black.

WHAT THEY SAID

“We're competitive again, the final step is always the hardest, because we are Milan and have raised expectations, but we keep seeing some strange results all over the division. The second half of the season will be even tougher, so we need to raise the bar and be ready.”

- Milan coach Pioli prior to the winter break