Monza vs AC Milan Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 Italian Serie A
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In what is a derby match in Lombardy as well as an emotional encounter for the Berlusconi family, an improving Monza side welcome Paulo Fonseca’s inconsistent AC Milan to Stadio Brianteo this weekend.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 2nd November, 2024 - UK – 7:45pm / US ET – 3:45pm / US PT – 12:45pm
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – Select matches will be televised on CBS Sports so it is worth checking their schedule
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – OneFootball / US – Paramount+
MONZA PREVIEW: COLLAPSING MONZA
After the departure of Raffaele Palladino to Fiorentina over the summer, Monza decided to appoint former AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta, who was last seen underperforming with quite a defensive and reactive style of football in charge of Serie B side Reggiana. They have won just one of their opening ten matches of the campaign.
The home team come into this one on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Atalanta in their most recent outing during the week at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo with two late strikes from the Bergamasci via Lazar Samardzic and Davide Zappacosta. They have won one, drawn five and lost four of their opening nine matches.
AC MILAN PREVIEW: BLUNTED ROSSONERI
Stefano Pioli won the 2021/22 Scudetto with AC Milan before being let go of this summer and he was replaced by former Lille, Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca. It was a slow start to the campaign followed by a minor improvement for the Milan boss but he is now under major pressure for his job.
Milan come into this one on the back of suffering another defeat in Serie A this weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Napoli at San Siro with goals in either half scored by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Romelu Lukaku. They have managed just five victories in their opening 12 matches across all competitions so far this season.
MONZA TEAM NEWS: NO SENSI
Monza are dealing with a couple of absentees for this weekend with midfielder Stefano Sensi is out injured, whilst Papu Gomez is suspended due to a doping ban.
They also have several doubts for the weekend’s clash with AC Milan as Alessio Cragno, Samuele Birindelli, Roberto Gagliardini and Andrea Petagna all potentially unavailable.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Turati; D’Ambrosio, Pablo Mari, Caldirola; Pedro Pereira, Pessina, Bianco, Kyriakopoulos; Dany Mota, Vignato; Maric
UNAVAILABLE: Sensi (Injured), Papu Gomez (Suspended)
QUESTIONABLE: Cragno (Injured), Birindelli (Injured), Gagliardini (Injured), Petagna (Illness)
AC MILAN TEAM NEWS: SEVERAL CONCERNS
AC Milan are dealing with plenty of injury issues for this weekend’s derby clash with Monza and Luka Jovic has also been added to the list as an injury doubt.
The Rossoneri are also missing several key players such as defender Matteo Gabbia, midfielder Ismael Bennacer, full-back Alessandro Florenzi and striker Tammy Abraham.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Emerson Royal, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Terracciano; Loftus-Cheek, Fofana, Musah; Chukwueze, Alvaro Morata, Okafor
UNAVAILABLE: Gabbia (Injured), Florenzi (Injured), Bennacer (Injured), Abraham (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Jovic (Injured)
MONZA VS AC MILAN PREDICTION
Alessandro Nesta’s style of football is quite defensive and prioritises solidity at the back and an ability to try and spring the occasional counter-attack which is reliant on Dany Mota and Daniel Maldini, when he starts, being efficient. They face an AC Milan side trying to mould into the possession-based style of Paulo Fonseca with an abundance of attacking options. They have lacked a bit of precision in the final third so whilst they are favourites it is expected to be a low-scoring encounter.
MONZA VS AC MILAN TIP: AC MILAN TO WIN & UNDER 3.5 GOALS
