Both seeking to end a sub-par year on an up note, AC Milan and Roma will close out 2024 with a Sunday night clash at San Siro.
While Milan lead their visitors by seven points in the Serie A standings, neither side has matched expectations amid turmoil off the pitch.
Match preview
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Not for the first time this season, the brilliance of midfield maestro Tijjani Reijnders helped Milan rise above mediocrity, as his goal secured maximum points in their final fixture before Christmas.
The Rossoneri's Dutch dynamo fired home from just outside the box at Stadio Bentegodi, slaying Hellas Verona and keeping his team within sight of Italy's top four.
Across all competitions, no other Serie A midfielder has played a part in more goals this term (10), while Reijnders is also flying high in both the shots and dribbles rankings; however, several other Milan players have been below their best.
Before beating Verona, they had slumped into mid-table following a run of one win from five, bringing fresh speculation about whether embattled head coach Paulo Fonseca would be shown the door.
Not only are his squad 14 points adrift of arch-rivals Inter Milan and 15 shy of league leaders Atalanta BC, meaning any slim Scudetto hopes have already been shelved, but they are also behind several other challengers for European qualification.
Yet to book a spot in the Champions League's last 16, the second-city side still have plenty to prove in the second half of the season, which starts early next month, after a sojourn to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa Italiana.
Milan may have kept six clean sheets in eight league games at San Siro this term, but they have also failed to score in three of the last four - as many times as throughout the previous 45. Therefore, they will want to sign off a substandard year by giving their fans some goals to celebrate.
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While Sunday's hosts have won all of their last four year-ending fixtures in Serie A, Roma have come up short in each of their last three, having won 17 of the previous 20.
They come into this contest following a tumultuous 12 months that featured the sackings of beloved boss Jose Mourinho and club icon Daniele De Rossi, a disastrous spell under new Southampton manager Ivan Juric, and the subsequent return of retired veteran Claudio Ranieri.
Though Ranieri seemed to steady the ship upon his interim appointment, results were still below par on the domestic front, as the Giallorossi slipped closer to the relegation zone at the start of December.
After the nadir of conceding two late goals to lose at lowly Como, they bounced back by racking up nine goals across two games in less than a week: first, Sampdoria were safely dispatched in the Coppa Italia, before Ranieri defeated another of his old clubs last time out.
Frequently linked with a move away during the upcoming transfer window, Paulo Dybala proved his worth by scoring twice in a 5-0 thumping of Parma at Stadio Olimpico, lifting Roma back into the top half of the table.
However, they have lost all of their last four away games in Serie A - the club's worst such run since 2008 - and have a dismal record against this week's opponents.
The Giallorossi have conceded at least twice in their last six San Siro encounters with the Rossoneri, winning just one of the sides' last nine Serie A meetings overall.
Team News
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Milan's long list of absentees could soon be significantly shortened, but it remains to be seen whether several players will return in time for Sunday's game.
Christian Pulisic has trained individually and could make the bench, while Ismael Bennacer and Luka Jovic are both back in full training.
Rafael Leao, Yunus Musah, Noah Okafor and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will all miss out, along with ex-Roma full-back Alessandro Florenzi, while Theo Hernandez hopes to end his exile from the starting XI, having been dropped amid speculation surrounding his future.
By contrast, Roma's sole injury absence is Bryan Cristante, who has suffered a setback in his bid to return from an ankle problem.
Claudio Ranieri may therefore opt against tinkering with a winning team, meaning that Milan loanee Alexis Saelemaekers could continue on the right flank, with ex-Rossonero Stephan El Shaarawy supporting Paulo Dybala up front.
No active player has been directly involved in more Serie A goals against Milan than Dybala (12), but 'La Joya' has recorded just one league strike at San Siro - back in November 2014, while with Palermo.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Terracciano; Chukwueze, Reijnders, Jimenez; Morata
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Paredes, Kone, Angelino; Dybala, El Shaarawy; Dovbyk
We say: AC Milan 1-1 Roma
Only Atalanta and Inter have had more touches in the opposition area than Roma and Milan this season, and neither side is particularly secure at the back, so there could be several chances.
On home turf, the Rossoneri tend to keep things a little tighter, but they have been hit by injuries and their visitors boast enough inventive attackers to score at least once.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
