Hellas Verona vs AC Milan: Hosts look to take advantage of injury-prone visitors

Topics: TV Schedules, Hellas Verona, AC Milan, Serie A

After another frustrating result, a win is necessary for Milan if they want to avoid city rivals Inter pulling further and further away.

Preview: Hellas Verona vs AC Milan

It wasn't too long ago that Milan were on top of the Serie A table and unbeaten. In fact, the Rossoneri came into 2021 as winter champions and were looking good to finally end their decade-long wait for their 19th Scudetto.

However, things have now changed. Stefano Pioli's men have lost four times since 2021 began, with two of those defeats taking place in their last five games. While losing to Inter and Juventus certainly is no surprise, they also failed to beat teams like Atalanta, and most shocking, debutants Spezia. The visitors now come into this match having drawn with Udinese, which now leaves them six points behind Inter, who could go as much as nine points clear should the Rossoneri fail to beat upcoming opponents Hellas Verona.

The Gialloblu have had a surprisingly good campaign so far, and have already nicked a point off Juventus earlier this season. Ivan Juric's team find themselves in eighth place, which is certainly exceeding expectations for a team who merely look to avoid the drop each campaign. Having easily beaten Benevento in their mid-week tie, Hellas Verona will certainly be looking at this game as a great opportunity to cause problems for a Milan side who are dealing with a worrying injury crisis.

Indeed, the Rossoneri are not only missing veteran striker and team top goal-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but also fellow attackers Ante Rebic and Mario Mandzukic, as well as versatile playmakes Hakan Calhanoglu. And in defense, Sandro Tonali and Theo Hernandez also look set to miss out as they're not fully match fit.

Team news: Hellas Verona vs AC Milan

Verona: Nikola Kalinic, Kevin Ruegg, and Omar Colley are Juric's only absentees for this upcoming tie.

Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Mandzukic are both out for this match, along with Ismael Bennacer, Ante Rebic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Theo Hernandez, and Sandro Tonali.