Kicking off 2024 with a Coppa Italia tie at San Siro, AC Milan host Serie A strugglers Cagliari on Tuesday evening.
Two teams at opposite ends of the league standings meet with a place in the cup quarter-finals at stake - either Atalanta BC or Sassuolo will await in the last eight.
Match preview
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After sitting out the Coppa Italia's earlier rounds, Milan will seek to take one step closer to a sixth national cup this week, when they play the second of two back-to-back fixtures on home soil.
Wrapping up 2023 with a game against Sassuolo at San Siro on Saturday night, the Rossoneri were aiming to recover from their latest setback in the Scudetto race - a disappointing 2-2 draw at Salernitana just before Christmas.
Having fallen 12 points behind arch-rivals Inter Milan, Stefano Pioli's side were under pressure to produce a positive result against a team that they had not beaten on Milanese soil since 2019, and a scrappy 1-0 win was enough to bring their deficit down to single figures.
Christian Pulisic's second-half strike ultimately proved enough to separate the sides, and Milan have now won four of their last six Serie A matches following a previous four-game streak without a league victory.
Now, attention turns to knockout competition, as last season's Champions League semi-finalists aim to embark on a run to the Coppa Italia decider, which will be held in Rome next spring.
Milan's drought in the Coppa dates back to 2003, when modern greats Andriy Shevchenko and Rivaldo were among the scorers in their final win over Roma, but they will at least be confident of booking a place in this year's quarter-finals, given their opponents' lack of pedigree in Italy's top cup competition.
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Cagliari have never before lifted the trophy - coming closest to glory in 1969, when they were beaten in the final - and their reward for coming through two earlier rounds this season is a tough test in the second city.
A dramatic extra-time defeat of Palermo started the Rossoblu's 2023-24 campaign on a high, and after a period spent struggling to adapt to life back in Serie A, they went on to topple Udinese in similarly eventful circumstances.
When the teams convened in Udine at the start of November, Claudio Ranieri's men went through to the last 16 thanks to a 120th-minute winner from Gianluca Lapadula, thereby avoiding the lottery of a penalty shootout by a whisker.
Since then, the Sardinian side's league form has continued to waver, and a recent loss at relegation rivals Verona saw them consigned to Serie A's bottom three at Christmas - they have yet to win away from home.
They do, at least, still sit one point ahead of 19th-placed Empoli after being held to a goalless draw by the Tuscan club at the weekend; before their top-flight trip to Lecce on Saturday, Cagliari can now take a free hit at the Coppa.
Team News
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Adding to Milan's apparently endless revolving door of absentees, midfielder Ismael Bennacer - only recently returned from a long injury layoff - has been told by the Algerian FA to join training on time ahead of the upcoming AFCON and will therefore not be able to feature against Cagliari.
Nigeria striker Samu Chukwueze will not depart until midweek, though, so Stefano Pioli should take the opportunity to rest either Rafael Leao or Christian Pulisic.
The latter's tally of 10 goal involvements so far this season is his best since the 2019-20 campaign when representing Chelsea, but he may sit out Tuesday's game with one eye on starting against Empoli in Sunday's early kickoff; Olivier Giroud is also likely to be benched.
Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, Marco Sportiello, Tommaso Pobega and Noah Okafor are all unavailable due to injury, so the likes of teenage defender Jan-Carlo Simic - who recently scored on his senior debut versus Monza - may be called upon by Pioli.
Cagliari's treatment room is far less crowded at the moment, as only Eldor Shomurodov, Marko Rog, Nahitan Nandez and Leonardo Pavoletti will be ruled out of contention to play at San Siro. Angola striker Zito Luvumbo is available for the last time before heading off on international duty.
Having been sidelined by suspension in Serie A, Antoine Makoumbou now returns to the Rossoblu's squad and is set to start in midfield, although Claudio Ranieri's selection policy is predictably unpredictable.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Florenzi, Simic, Hernandez, Jimenez; Krunic, Adli; Chukwueze, Romero, Traore; Jovic
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Radunovic; Di Pardo, Wieteska, Hatzidiakos, Obert; Deiola, Makoumbou, Jankto; Oristanio; Luvumbo, Petagna
We say: AC Milan 3-1 Cagliari
Given Cagliari's defensive deficiencies - clearly apparent when losing at home to Milan earlier this season - and their lack of fortitude when on the road, even a much-changed Milan side should safely secure a place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
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