Atalanta vs AC Milan: Can Rossoneri grab a win and secure UCL football for next season?

Topics: TV Schedules, Atalanta, AC Milan, Serie A

AC Milan will seek to secure a top four spot, but could face a tough test as they have to travel to face a very determined Atalanta side.

Preview: Atalanta vs Milan

On Sunday, Milan will travel to take on Atalanta. It's safe to say that La Dea aren't the opponent that the Rossoneri would have wanted to face in their final match of the season. For starters, the Bergamo based outfit beat Milan 3-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this year, and are again proving that they're no flash in the pan.

As things stand, Gian Piero Gasperini's team will again qualify for the Champions League for the third straight season. Although they came up short against Juventus in this season's Coppa Italia final, the fact that they even made it to the final is an achievement in itself, especially for a small team whose entire squad bill is smaller than the yearly salary of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barring a shocking collapse, Atalanta will be in the Champions League next season, alongside newly crowned Scudetto winners Inter. That means that Napoli, Juventus, and Milan will have to battle it out for the last two remaining spots. For Milan and their fans, their fall from being Scudetto contenders to now barely hanging on to a top four spot must be a great disappointment, to say the least. It's been eight years since the Rossoneri qualified for the Champions League and if they fail to win on Sunday, it very well may be another year that they'll have to wait to even feature in the tournament entirely.

Milan's failure to beat Cagliari in their last game is quite surprising, to say the least. That being said, it's reflective of their struggles at the Stadio San Siro, which have cost them valuable points and inevitably, the Scudetto. Before that, they'd crushed Torino 7-0 and more important, beaten Juventus 3-0 in Turin. The Rossoneri have done much better in their travels this term, but their record against Atalanta unfortunately isn't the best - they've only won one of their last 11 meetings with the Bergamo-based outfit.

Atalanta, for their part, really have nothing to lose here and given that they again have the highest-scoring attack in the league, will be able to pour numbers forward without abandon. Will Milan be able to overcome their negative history against the plucky outfit and secure a spot in the Champions League for themselves?

Team news: Atalanta vs Milan

Atalanta: Robin Gosens suffered a bruised ankle during the Coppa Italia final, but could recover to feature here. Hans Hateboer is definitely out.

Milan: Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play no part in this match as he's out for the long-haul due to a knee injury. That means that Ante Rebic will take over as the main striker as Milan look to secure all three points in this crunch clash - provided he can shake off a calf injury.

Match facts: Atalanta vs Milan

Atalanta are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 meetings with Milan across all comps
La Dea have also won their last seven home games in Serie A
However, Milan are unbeaten in 23 of their last 25 away Serie A games
In addition, the Rossoneri have kept a clean sheet in their last four away league matches...
...but Atalanta have managed to keep a clean sheet in their last three home ties
La Dea are aiming to win eight consecutive home games for the first time in club history