AC Milan vs Salernitana

Serie A top-four hopefuls AC Milan welcome bottom-half strugglers Salernitana to the Stadio San Siro for a high-stakes league showdown.

AC Milan stood their ground to hold Tottenham Hotspur to a goalless draw in London in midweek Champions League action, defending a slender first-leg lead to reach the competition’s quarter-finals for the first time in over a decade. So the spirits must be high in the home camp, even though last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina knocked them down from a three-match winning streak in Serie A. Embroiled in an evenly-contested top-four race, ‘I Rossoneri’ started this round level on points with second-placed Inter Milan, therefore, there’s little room for mistakes. Salernitana could fall perfect victim to Milan’s desperate need for points, considering the reigning Italian champions have won five of their seven Serie A H2Hs (D1, L1). Adding to Stefano Pioli’s confidence, his men have gone unbeaten in four of their five league encounters against side commencing the round in the bottom five this term (W3, D1).

On the other hand, Salernitana’s woeful run of two victories from their last 13 Serie A fixtures (D3, L8) leaves them exposed to the prospect of being sucked into the relegation scrap as they head into proceedings only six points clear of the drop zone. But after losing three consecutive league matches without scoring, Paulo Sousa’s men have gone unbeaten in the last two (W2, D1), keeping a clean sheet on each occasion. Another shutout would see them go three consecutive top-flight games without conceding, though it looks seemingly unlikely. Indeed, the visitors have let in at least two goals in their last five Serie A meetings with Milan. On the upside, though, after succumbing to a humiliating 8-2 defeat at Atalanta in mid-January, they’ve conceded just twice on their subsequent three league travels.