SALERNITANA V AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

A blast from the past, now it is time to carve out a glorious future in Salerno. The Rossoneri are heading back to the Arechi almost 24 years after their last appearance in Salerno and they do so for a testing "head-to-head" encounter. Salernitana v AC Milan looks set to be a much trickier fixture than the league table might suggest because the Campania side have changed so much - including their head coach this week, Davide Nicola. Compared to the first half of the season they now have a fresh spirit and set-up. AC Milan are yet to drop points since the February hiatus, but this evening they will need to be at their best to get the better of the Granata. The 20:45 kick-off is just a few hours away, so let's get ready with our usual match preview. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
Pioli will be able to count on an almost full complement this evening, with the only exceptions being the long-standing injuries for Simon Kjær, Zlatan Ibrahimović and new arrival Marko Lazetić. Hernández is back after his suspension but he will be on a caution, as will Ismaël Bennacer and Brahim Díaz. Theo will be back on the left flank, while the attacking line-up from AC Milan v Sampdoria should be the same: Giroud will lead the line, with the usual selection call to be made between Messias and Saelemaekers. Here is what coach Pioli had to say about the match:

"There are more unknowns than usual. This week, we’ve focused more on ourselves because the change in coach stops us from knowing what to expect from them, even if we know the players. Before every match, I’m always worried. It’ll be a game where we’ll need to be both attentive and focused. Our approach and the quality of our decisions will both be very important."

LATEST FROM SALERNITANA
The Granata will go into this home game with Davide Nicola at the helm. The 48-year-old from Piedmont was officially named as Colantuono's replacement after his dismissal on Tuesday and was then presented as the new coach the following day. The squad had an extreme makeover over the winter transfer window with 11 new signings, including experienced players such as Fazio, Verdi, Sepe, Radovanović and Perotti. Salernitana have picked up 5 points in their first 5 games of 2022, losing only to Lazio and Napoli, but still failing to move off the bottom of the table. After the change in technical guidance, the motivation against the Rossoneri will be even stronger and this will make the fixture even more challenging. There will be a few missing players for the Granata: Mamadou Coulibaly, Matteo Ruggeri, Andrea Schiavone and probably Simone Verdi.  

Speaking on the fixture on the day of his presentation, Nicola said: "For the AC Milan match, I don't think our motivation should necessarily be higher just because we are coming up against a big Club, we should be the ones motivating ourselves, that's what needs to happen. We want to feel capable of doing what we set out to do. Aggressiveness, courage and organisation."

PRE-MATCH
AC Milan's flying form is backed up by the numbers: the Rossoneri have 55 points in the league so far this season, two more than in 2020/21 (53) after 25 games, conceding four fewer goals (26 v 30) and scoring two more goals (50 v 48) at the same point in the season. There are two phases of the match in which the team is performing particularly well: in the first 15 minutes of play this season AC Milan have already scored 10 goals (only Lazio have scored more, 11), while 20 goals have been scored in the last half hour (a record equal to Lazio). This is a special match for coach Stefano Pioli, who began his professional coaching career in Campania in 2003/04 when his Salernitana team avoided the drop in Serie B. 

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
Salernitana v AC Milan will be broadcast in Italy by DAZN and Sky Sport at 20:45. On the Rossoneri channels, however, Milan TV's Matchday will cover the build-up and post-match. It will be available on SKY (channel 230), within the schedule of DAZN or Amazon Prime Video Channels. The subscription costs €3.99 per month with a fifteen-day free trial. Live coverage of the Rossoneri's pre-match build-up will begin at 19:30 (CET) until close to kick-off at San Siro. At the end of the match, there will be interviews and a press conference with coach Pioli.

From 20:40, there will also be a special event on AC Milan's Twitch channel, with Live Reaction from Francesco Specchia, Lollo, Garrincha and lots of special guests. Don't miss the live stream on Twitter and coverage on acmilan.com and the AC Milan Official App.

LATEST SERIE A
38-year-old Michael Fabbri (from the Ravenna branch) will take charge of the clash. Fabbri has 104 Serie A matches under his belt but hasn't refereed the Rossoneri since AC Milan 1-0 Torino on 17 February 2020, the game decided by a goal from Ante Rebić. Fabbri has refereed a total of 6 Rossoneri matches in his career: W3, D1, L2. He has only refereed Salernitana once before in Serie A, the Campania Derby against Napoli on 31 October last year. 

Matchday 26 of Serie A began on Friday with the Derby della Mole between Juventus and Torino, final result 1-1. Today at 15:00 Sampdoria v Empoli, at 18:00 Roma v Hellas Verona and at 20:45 Salernitana v AC Milan. Tomorrow at 12:30 Fiorentina v Atalanta, at 15:00 Venezia v Genoa, at 18:00 Inter v Sassuolo and at 20:45 Udinese v Lazio. The two fixtures on monday will finish off the week: Cagliari v Napoli at 18:00 and Bologna v Spezia at 21:00. 

The current standings: AC Milan 55, Inter 54*, Napoli 53, Juventus 47, Atalanta 44*, Lazio 42, Roma 40, Fiorentina* 39, Hellas Verona 36, Torino 33*, Empoli 31, Sassuolo 30, Bologna 28*, Spezia* 26, Udinese** 24, Sampdoria 23, Venezia* 21, Cagliari 21, Genoa 15, Salernitana 13. (* game in hand)

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