Soon after another setback in Europe, Scudetto-holders AC Milan return to the defence of their Serie A title on Sunday, as they visit Hellas Verona.
Beaten by Chelsea for the second time in under a week, the Rossoneri face a battle to make the Champions League's last 16, but first must tackle opponents stranded in the bottom three and now under new management.
Match preview
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Seeing defensive lynchpin Fikayo Tomori sent to the stands against his former club after just 18 minutes at San Siro, Milan went a man down early in their effort to reverse last week's result against Chelsea in London.
Having then conceded twice before the half-time break, another loss became inevitable, and the Rossoneri now sit third in Champions League Group E with only two games remaining.
The seven-time European champions have not progressed to the knockout stage since 2014, and their hopes of ending that drought hang by a thread, but before they resume their continental quest an apparently straightforward pair of domestic engagements await.
Before taking on local upstarts Monza next week, Milan must travel to Veneto, where they aim to build on successive wins over Empoli and Juventus - the latter coming at San Siro last Saturday, thanks to a close-range strike from Tomori and Brahim Diaz's solo stunner.
Though they are only fifth in the table - three points adrift of leaders Napoli - the reigning champions have fired in the most shots from high turnovers (20), scored the most goals from such turnovers (four) and recorded the most direct attacks (28) of any side in Serie A this season.
Stefano Pioli's side also remain the only unbeaten team away from home throughout 2022 - winning nine of 13 fixtures on the road this year. Furthermore, victory over Verona would see them win at least seven of their first 10 games in three consecutive campaigns for the very first time in club history.
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Hellas have lost five of their last seven Serie A matches against Milan, including each of the last three, but that represents almost the least of their problems at the moment, as they languish inside the division's drop zone.
With a sorry tally of just five points from their nine league matches under Gabriele Cioffi - and their solitary success came against winless Sampdoria - the club's board lost patience with a coach they appointed only in the summer, following Igor Tudor's departure for Marseille.
After being beaten by a stoppage-time goal against Salernitana, Verona had lost each of Cioffi's final four games, and the last time they lost five on the bounce in Serie A was back in 2018, when they were relegated at the end of the season.
The Hellas hierarchy have wasted no time in filling their vacancy in the dugout, as former defender Salvatore Bocchetti became the club's new boss earlier this week.
A 35-year-old rookie, Bocchetti has briefly worked as the Gialloblu's Primavera coach, and as an assistant to Tudor, but has now taken the fast-track to the top job at a particularly difficult time: Verona are conceding goals at a rate of nearly two per game, and they tackle an improving Sassuolo side next week after hosting mighty Milan.
Team News
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Still hampered by a lengthy injury list this weekend, Stefano Pioli will have to improvise once again when naming his starting XI.
Summer signing Charles De Ketelaere recently joined Alexis Saelemaekers (knee), Simon Kjaer (thigh) and Davide Calabria (hamstring) in the treatment room at Milanello, while first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan remains out of action too. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Florenzi are sidelined for the long term.
As a result, opportunities to rotate his resources are few, so Pioli should send out a relatively unchanged lineup, including Sandro Tonali in central midfield. The Italy international scored his only Serie A brace at Stadio Bentegodi back in May, which went a long way to securing last season's Scudetto for his side.
Meanwhile, defensive duo Diego Coppola and Pawel Dawidowicz are set to miss out for the home side, in addition to Serbian pair Ivan Ilic and Darko Lazovic.
As Federico Ceccherini serves a suspension for his stoppage-time dismissal in Salerno last week, new Verona boss Salvatore Bocchetti may bring in Colombian defender Juan Cabal at the back.
It remains to be seen whether Bocchetti makes sweeping changes to the final team named by his predecessor, but Thomas Henry - on just two goals so far this term - is still likely to lead the line up front.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Hien, Gunter, Cabal; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Doig; Hrustic, Verdi; Henry
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Tomori, Gabbia, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud
We say: Hellas Verona 0-2 AC Milan
The last Serie A draw between Verona and Milan at the Bentegodi was in December 2000, and that run is set to remain unbroken as the champions claim victory again. Despite their absences, the Rossoneri have too much pace and guile for their hosts to handle and should score at least twice.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
