After a dull stalemate with Chievo, AC Milan will face off against the Flying Donkeys' cross town rivals Hellas Verona at the San Siro. The Rossoneri currently sit in tenth place, with 34 points and look set to miss out on European football for a second straight season unless if something drastically improves. And although Pippo Inzaghi has been defiant in the face of rumors concerning his job security, the rumor that has been going around is that this game will be a win-or-bust for the former Primavera coach.
Verona is quite familiar to the retired striker, having spent a year there on loan during the 1993/1994 season whilst at Piacenza, scoring 14 goals in all competitions. Andrea Mandorlini's men will arrive having earned 28 points, only six less than the Diavolo and after a morale-boosting win over Cagliari, the Gialloblu will certainly fancy their chances against a Milan side that has looked the weakest they have been in several seasons.
The two sides had to wait quite some time to meet up again due to Verona's 11 year absence from Serie A, which was finally ended thanks to a second-placed finish in Italian football's second tier during the 2012/2013 season. Since then, the visitors have defeated them once out of their three meetings, with the other two going in favour of Milan.
In August 2013, a brace from veteran striker Luca Toni enough to cancel out Andrea Poli's earlier effort in their first game back in Serie A during the previous campaign. Certainly, given this, the 37-year-old, who has netted an impressive 10 goals - over one-third of his team's 29 - will be one that the Diavolo's back line will have to keep their eye on.
Statistically, Milan have enjoyed an unbeaten record against Verona at the San Siro, with 15 wins and 9 losses. It will be interesting to see if this can be maintained against a Verona side that will be out for blood. Additionally, whilst Jeremy Menez has netted 12 goals so far, the Frenchman has been quiet as of late and as such Rossoneri fans will hope that he can find his shooting boots again. Keisuke Honda, who has scored six himself looked fairly solid after coming on as a sub for Riccardo Montolivo during the draw with Chievo and will definitely be re-called to the starting XI.
With 18 goals for Honda and Menez, the duo have scored over half of the team's total of 35 so far this season, which does not look good for the other attacking options at Inzaghi's disposal and certainly the team's supporters will hope they really start get things moving.
As for Verona, their scoring record at the San Siro is something their own fans will hope they will vastly improve on. In 24 meetings, the Gialloblu have only been able to score more than one goal twice, with the most recent time being during a 3-3 draw 15 years ago in March 2000.
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