Serie A preview: Venezia vs. AC Milan – Team news, opposition insight and prediction | OneFootball

Following the big win in the derby against Inter, AC Milan will be looking to keep the momentum going against Venezia on Sunday morning. With the Veneto side fighting for salvation, however, it shouldn’t be a walk in the park.

Few expected Milan to clinch a spot in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, and especially not in the way they did it. With three goals and a clean sheet, resulting in a 4-1 win on aggregate, the Rossoneri sent a message to the rest of the league.

Sergio Conceicao opted not to speak to the media given the packed schedule (i.e. many interviews lately), and probably also due to the Pope’s funeral. After the game against Inter, however, he made it clear that Milan cannot afford to take their foot off the gas.

Game date: Sunday, April 27 Kick-off time: 12:30 (CET) Venue: Pier Luigi Penzo Referee: Gianluca Manganiello (VAR: Paterna)

Team news

On the injury front, Ruben Loftus-Cheek returned to Conceicao’s disposal for the game against Inter and actually came off the bench as well. Kyle Walker, meanwhile, was left out due to the elbow recovery but he will be available tomorrow, which is good news.

Matteo Gabbia had to leave the Inter clash with a neck injury, following a decisive header in the box, so he will miss the game tomorrow. However, it’s believed to be nothing serious for the academy product, so he should be back for the game after. Update: Sky is now reporting that Gabbia has recovered and will start after all.

There are no suspensions to note for Milan, but it should be mentioned that Theo Hernandez, Warren Bondo and Rafael Leao are one yellow card away from suspension. Genoa are up after Venezia, and then Bologna (in the league), so it might be worth taking it tomorrow, if one can think like that.

Formation-wise, following the success in the derby, Conceicao is set to continue with the 3-4-3 for tomorrow and there should also be few changes. Gabbia will have to be replaced, of course, and Malick Thiaw will take his spot in the middle of the defence.

Since the schedule is relatively light for Milan, with the Genoa clash taking place on Monday, May 5th, the manager sees no reason to rest Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana in midfield. Instead, he wants to keep the positive form given and to do that, he at least needs the Dutchman.

The same argument can be applied to Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao who, frankly, could use the playing time to pick themselves up a bit. They weren’t awful against Inter but also had their fair share of struggles, so perhaps this game can be a confidence booster for them.

Up front, Jovic looks set to start again and given his recent form, it’s hard to argue against that. Santiago Gimenez and Tammy Abraham will be options off the bench for Conceicao, so we’re talking about a very good situation for the manager either way.

Predicted Milan XI (3-4-3): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Fofana, Reijnders, Hernandez; Pulisic, Jovic, Leao.

The opponents

Venezia were promoted to Serie A ahead of this season, winning the play-offs after finishing in third place, and it’s been a roller-coaster return so far. Of course, things weren’t ideal from the start as their successful manager Paolo Vanoli left to coach Torino instead.

The club opted for Eusebio Di Francesco as the replacement and in November, that looked like the wrong choice with 10 defeats in the first 14 rounds. In the second half of the season, however, they have collected a total of 12 points.

It’s by no means great, but the plethora of draws this season (13!) have at least allowed Venezia to have salvation in their sights. They still have Milan, Fiorentina and Juventus to face so they are up against it, but safety is currently just one point away.

Their first season back in Serie A in recent history, 2021-22, was certainly not any better as they finished rock bottom with 27 points, two more points than they currently have with five games to go. In any case, they are heading into the clash as underdogs.

To use a recent game against a top-level side as an example, Napoli only managed a 0-0 draw away at Venezia and the home side even had chances to score a winner. Despite the struggles this season, therefore, they are by no means a pushover team.

Notable players include the midfielder Gianluca Busio, who is Venezia’s most expensive signing of all time at €6m, and the Napoli loanee Alessio Zerbin. However, it’s very clear when looking at the predicted XI and bench that there are miles between Venezia and Milan.

Predicted Venezia XI (3-5-2): Radu; Schingtienne, Idzes, Fali Cande; Zerbin, Kike Perez, Caviglia, Busio, Ellertsson; Yeboah, Fila.

Head to head

Going all the way back to 1936-37, Milan and Venezia have been up against each other 32 times since, with the Rossoneri prevailing in 21 of these. 7 of them have ended in draws, while Venezia have won just 4. There’s a clear historical advantage for the Lombardia side, in other words.

The reverse fixture took place in September and it came after a poor start to the season for Milan. However, in that game, they responded in style with a 4-0 win after goals from Theo Hernandez, Youssouf Fofana, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham all within the first 29 minutes.

The last meeting in Venice, meanwhile, was in the Scudetto season ended 3-0 in favour of the Rossoneri, thanks to a brace from Theo Hernandez and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic tap-in. Recognise a pattern? Well, the Frenchman has four goals and one assist in three games against Venezia.

Unfortunately, Opta haven’t provided any key stats for the game tomorrow, hence the lack of them below. If they become available, we will add them.

Ones to watch

Luka Jovic is the man of the moment and it looks like he will get the chance from start again. The performance against Inter was absolutely brilliant, as highlighted in our ratings, and the improved physical condition should help him a lot tomorrow as well.

Given Theo Hernandez’s record against Venezia, it makes sense to keep an extra eye on him tomorrow as well. He had some important contributions in attack against Inter and with the 3-4-3 formation, he will surely be able to get close to goal tomorrow.

Assuming that Venezia will focus a lot on defending tomorrow, Ionot Radu will probably be called into action a lot. Most Milan fans know him from his infamous mistake for Inter against Bologna in the Scudetto season, but he’s actually capable of making some very good saves as well.

Gianluca Busio bagged his second goal of the season last time out, playing in a more advanced role, so it remains to be seen if he can punish some of his compatriots. Then again, he’s not exactly the most prolific player in the league.

Prediction

With no major rotation expected from Sergio Conceicao, the feeling is that Milan will collect all three points tomorrow. The win against Inter was certainly a confidence boost and ahead of the Coppa Italia, the Rossoneri need to build on their confidence.

Having said that, as Venezia are fighting for salvation, it won’t necessarily be an easy game for Conceicao’s men. They have had some issues against low-sitting teams earlier this season, so quality will still be needed to get the win.

Venezia 0-2 AC Milan