Serie A preview: AC Milan vs. Hellas Verona – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction

SempreMilan

·14 February 2025

Serie A preview: AC Milan vs. Hellas Verona – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction

After the loss in the Champions League, AC Milan are preparing to host Hellas Verona, and the Rossoneri must bounce back for the sake of their season.

Whilst we’re not in a meltdown situation, we are not far away. Milan losing in midweek has opened a void, and it is in everyone’s interest for it to be ignored for the meantime. The best way to do this? Claiming three points against Hellas Verona this weekend.

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Whilst Sergio Conceicao has not spoken before the game, we know that he was deeply frustrated by the result in midweek and reports have suggested that he is going to revolutionise the squad again. A telling situation.

Game date: Saturday, February 15 Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET) Venue: San Siro Referee: Francesco Fourneau (VAR: Francesco Meraviglia)

Team news

Starting with an injury update, there is some good news as Warren Bondo returned to training, and will be called up for tomorrow’s game. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, is still training individually so Conceicao will have to wait a little longer there.

The likes of Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Royal will also miss out, but that isn’t exactly any surprise given the serious nature of their injuries. With the addition of Kyle Walker to the squad, it’s not exactly like Milan are lacking depth in the right-back spot either (also Alex Jimenez).

Yunus Musah was suspended against Feyenoord mid-week but will be back from this one, which is great news considering the struggles in midfield. Of course, he will be traded for another absentee, namely Fikayo Tomori who is serving a one-game suspension.

In short, Conceicao will have a rather healthy squad and now is the time to deliver. Since the start of the year, when the manager took over in the league, Milan have claimed just three out of a possible six wins, albeit including two draws. Still, the Rossoneri cannot afford draws at the moment.

With a near-full squad available, the Portuguese must get his lineup spot on to keep the pressure off of his back. Despite his error in midweek, Mike Maignan keeps his place in the goal, and the defence will also remain the same: Walker, Malick Thiaw, Strahinja Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez.

Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders will once again start in the centre, but the former could be given a chance to rest during the game if Warren Bondo can make an appearance.

Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images

After the failings of the 4-4-2, Milan will revert to a 4-2-3-1, and Yunus Musah will start on the wing with Joao Felix and Christian Pulisic beside him. However, the American could also sit in midfield to allow Felix the wide area. Santiago Gimenez will also retain his place up front.

Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Theo; Musah, Fofana; Chukwueze, Reijnders, Sottil; Gimenez. Note: Updated after preview was first written.

The opponents

Under the guidance of Paolo Zanetti, Verona have been fighting at the bottom of the standings since the start of the season. If it hadn’t been for claiming one win and one draw in the last three games, the Bentegodi side would have been in 18th place, the last relegation spot.

In any case, the season can only be described as dire so far and while Verona have had a knack for avoiding relegation despite difficulties in recent years, nothing about this is good. They have conceded the most goals in the entire league, at 53 currently, with nine more than Parma.

As a result of the aforementioned, they also have the worst goal difference at -27. Put shortly, they will really need to pick themselves up to avoid making the drop to Serie B. Having said that, it’s likely to get worse with Milan, Fiorentina, Juventus and Bologna up next.

The only silver lining would be that they have won seven games, which is more than the competitors at the bottom. It’s the opposite when looking at draws but of course, claiming points by winning is worth a whole lot more.

Head to head

Tomorrow’s clash will be the 80th meeting between AC Milan and Hellas Verona across all competitions, with some cup and even two Serie B encounters included in the overall tally. The Rossoneri have amassed 37 wins, 28 draws and 14 defeats so far, putting them in the front seat.

Milan prevailed in both games last season and are currently on an eight-game winning run against the Bentegodi side, which says a lot. The most recent clash at San Siro, i.e. in the 2023-24 season, ended 1-0 in favour of the Rossoneri with Rafael Leao scoring the only goal of the game.

The reverse fixture this season also finished 1-0 in favour of Milan, who found the back of the net through Tijjani Reijnders. It was a brilliant pass by Youssouf Fofana to set him up and the finish was clinical too.

Key facts and stats

➤ Milan have won each of their last eight Serie A matches against Hellas Verona; the Rossoneri have only managed to record a longer consecutive winning streak against four opponents in their history in the competition: 13 against Chievo, 10 against Novara, 10 against Pescara and 9 against Siena.

➤ Hellas Verona have never won away against Milan (D13 L19) nor against Inter; since their first Serie A season in 1957/58, they’ve played the most times at a single stadium (San Siro) without winning: 24 draws and 41 defeats in 65 previous such matches.

➤ Although Hellas Verona have scored only one goal in the last three matches against Milan in Serie A, the Venetians have scored 66 goals overall against the Rossoneri in the competition, only against Fiorentina (71) have they scored more (also 66 against Lazio).

➤ Milan have won 11 of their last 15 Serie A matches against opponents in the bottom six positions of the table at the start of the matchday (D4).

➤ Hellas Verona have remained unbeaten in four of their last five Serie A away games (W3 D1), after recording a run of six consecutive away defeats in the competition.

➤ Milan have won only two of their last eight home league games (D5 L1); however, no team has kept more clean sheets than the Rossoneri at home in Serie A this term (6, alongside Napoli and Juventus).

➤ Only Southampton (54) and Holstein Kiel (54) have conceded more goals than Hellas Verona (53, level with Leicester) in the big five European Leagues in 2024-25; indeed, before this season, the Venetians had never conceded more than 50 goals in their first 24 matches played in a Serie A season.

➤ Milan have made the most direct attacks in Serie A this term (58) – on the other hand, Verona have conceded only 25 such attacks to their opponents so far, more than only Juventus (22), Atalanta (20) and Lazio (16).

➤ Santiago Giménez, after his goal against Empoli, could become the third player to score in each of his first two Serie A appearances for Milan in the three points for a win era – among those in their debut season in the competition – after Andriy Shevchenko in September 1999 and Christian Pulisic in August 2023.

➤ Diego Coppola, who is the player with the most interceptions in Serie A this term (48), has played 68 games for Hellas Verona in Serie A. Only Ivan Ilic (72) has played more games for the club in the era of three points for a win before turning 22.

Ones to watch

Starting with the opposition, Jackson Tchatchoua could be a huge issue for Milan if they are not careful. Whilst his role will mainly be regimented, if he get an opportunity to attack the flank, Theo Hernandez has proved to be vulnerable and this could be exploited.

Ondrej Duda is set to return for the opposition, and after a month sidelined he will be keen to return with a bang. The midfielder is very much able to dictate the game from deep, and if the Rossoneri are not aware of this, they will be punished.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Yunus Musah has a big game ahead of him, for several reasons. Not only is the American displacing Leao, but he also is coming back in when midfielders are coming back. In other words, if he wants the continuity which he has sought after for so long, he needs to prove his value.

Theo Hernandez also needs to prove himself – what an odd sentence. The Frenchman has been too poor for too long, and against a system where he could capitalise, Theo has an opportunity to flip the script. It is in his own hands, only he can change the future.

Prediction

It’s not desperation for the Rossoneri, at least not yet. Saturday’s result in many ways can be a catalyst for good (or bad), and everyone needs a positive result. Reports have already suggested that Milan are playing for everything this weekend and almost everyone has something to prove. A dominant performance is needed, and this is where the key players must turn up.

Milan 2-0 Verona