Earlier in the season, the plan was to get back in the Champions League for the 2015/2016 campaign after missing out this season. Given AC Milan's struggles, that is not going to happen. Now the focus has shifted to a Europa League spot. With 29 points and sitting in the bottom half of the table, sandwiched between cross-town rivals Inter and Serie A newbies Sassuolo, it is still possible. The Rossoneri are six points behind both Sampdoria and Fiorentina, but obviously in order to catch and overtake them, they have to start winning.
A confidence-boosting win over bottom-placed Parma was followed by a loss to Juventus, which was not surprising given the growing gap between the two sides. It was not too long ago that the Diavolo were battling it out with the Bianconeri for the league title, but those days must seem like a lifetime ago to weary Milan supporters around the world.
Filippo Inzaghi's future is constantly the subject of speculation and it will continue to be unless if the team can start stringing together some positive results. Back-to-back wins have eluded them since the earlier part of the season but they do have the opportunity to begin accumulating points this month. Out of the Coppa Italia and with no European football, they can focus on the league and hope to find themselves not just in the top half of the table, but moving closer to catching Sampdoria and Fiorentina who occupt the fifth and fourth placed spots respectively.
Following Empoli, the Rossoneri will have some more bottom-ranked teams to deal with, including Cesena and Chievo to complete February, and then Hellas Verona awaits them in March before a tough battle with Fiorentina. Still, the Azzurri are known for frustrating their opponents as they are content to sit back and hold out for a draw in their hope of not returning to Serie B next season. From the visitors' perspective, who currently sit in 15th place with 23 points, four ahead of 18th-placed Cagliari, each point earned from a draw is the difference between salvation and relegation.
The last match between these two sides ended as a 2-2 draw. Empoli would be more than happy to have a repeat of the same result, but for Milan, it is a must-win if they want to even have a chance of clawing their way into a Europa League berth for next season. Certainly, Europe's second-tier competition is not what Rossoneri fans would have wanted for the team but given how poorly they have fared as of late, there are many who would feel that something is definitely better than nothing at all.
With just 16 matches remaining in the 2014/2015 Serie A campaign, there are 48 points left to be earned. Will three of those come tomorrow for Milan? Tune in to find out.
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