AC Milan have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, winning both of their opening two Serie A games and advancing through Europa League qualifying.
They take on newly-promoted Spezia Calcio at San Siro and will expect to keep that momentum going with another victory.
Match preview
© Reuters
Milan have been comfortable winners in their first two Serie A outings of the season, beating both Bologna and newly-promoted Crotone by 2-0 scorelines.
They've done so whilst juggling Europa League qualifying duties after finishing sixth last season and beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 before a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Rio Ave to get them into the group stages.
Milan have finished sixth in three of the last four seasons - finishing fifth the other year - and have not been able to break back into the Champions League spots since the 2012-13 season, despite their best efforts.
The last seven seasons have been disappointing for a club of Milan's stature, but their strong start this year may give the Rossoneri hope that this campaign will be the beginning of their revival.
And they will feel confident of maintaining that strong start as they take on a second newly-promoted side in as many league games in the form of Spezia.
Spezia were soundly beaten 4-1 by Sassuolo in their opening game, but bounced back to claim a 2-0 victory over Udinese despite being reduced to 10 men at 1-0.
However, they face their toughest challenge yet, going up against an in-form Milan side at San Siro - a daunting prospect.
They will hope that Milan's Europa League exertions have taken their toll and will allow them to spring a surprise.
AC Milan Serie A form: WW
AC Milan form (all competitions): WWWWW
Spezia Calcio Serie A form: LW
Team News
© Reuters
Milan manager Stefano Pioli has several injuries to contend with in his squad as he prepares for the visit of Spezia.
Ante Rebic, Andrea Conti and Mateo Musacchio are all out and are set to return later this month.
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Leo Duarte and Alessio Romagnoli are all doubts and Pioli must wait to see if they are fit enough to feature.
Spezia boss Vincenzo Italiano has similar selection problems to deal with ahead of Sunday's trip to Milan.
Federico Mattiello is out with a calf problem, while Elio Capradossi is sidelined until next year with a knee injury.
Ardian Ismajli, Jeroen Zoet and Giuseppe Mastinu are all doubts, while Claudio Terzi is suspended.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Gabbia, Hernandez; Kessie, Bennacer; Castillejo, Calhanoglu, Saelemaekers; Maldini
Spezia Calcio possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Ferrer, Erlic, Chabot, Ramos; Deiola, Ricci, Maggiore; Verde, Galabinov, Gyasi
We say: AC Milan 2-0 Spezia Calcio
AC Milan have cruised to victory in each of their first two games and should have no trouble brushing newly-promoted Spezia aside at home.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:dataData Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a AC Milan win with a probability of 59.45%. A draw had a probability of 21.6% and a win for Spezia Calcio had a probability of 18.96%.
The most likely scoreline for an AC Milan win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.95%) and 2-0 (9.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.16%), while for a Spezia Calcio win it was 0-1 (5.19%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 6.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AC Milan would win this match.
