AC MILAN v UDINESE: MATCH PREVIEW

An unusual day at an even more unusual time: AC Milan are ready to face Udinese on Friday at 18:45. An important and tricky fixture that needs to be won. At San Siro, the Rossoneri must pass yet another test to redeem the draw in Salerno and stay on top. Here's our Match Preview:

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
Bennacer is certain to be absent through suspension and Ibrahimović through injury. A booking would cost all three of Díaz, Hernández and Romagnoli dearly and mean they would miss the trip to Naples. The Rossoneri resumed training on Monday at Milanello, working on every aspect: athletic, technical and tactical. Kessie is expected to regain the starting spot in midfield, which hasn't happened in the league since December. Rebić, after his goal at the Arechi, is getting back to his best and will be looking forward to playing against his favourite "victim" Udinese: his brace at home in 2020 kicked off his AC Milan career.

Coach Pioli had the following to say in the press conference on the eve of the match: "I can see that my squad are ready and motivated, Udinese will be a tough side to play against. We're in good shape despite the fact we are coming of the back of a performance with some errors. This week, we’ve done analysis and put in the hard work, and I expect a more solid performance tomorrow. Our objective remains to improve on the points tally we achieved last season. If this leads us to winning the Scudetto, then we’ll have achieved something extraordinary. 

LATEST FROM UDINESE
Cioffi's team are not in safe waters. Currently on 25 points, Udinese are in sixteenth place, just three points  off the relegation zone but with two games in hand. Away from the Dacia Arena, where last weekend they drew with Lazio (1-1), the Friulians have struggled: 0-4 in Verona, 0-0 in Genoa and 0-2 at the home of Juve in 2022. The good news is the full recovery of Pereyra, as well as that of Udogie. In their 3-5-2, particular attention should be paid to their attacking threat: former Rossonero Deulofeu seems to be in great shape and Beto bagged a goal in the game earlier this season.

Cioffi speaking to Udinese TV: "We're talking about the leaders, the strongest team in the championship currently: we'll have to be perfect. Pioli and his staff have done and are doing an incredible job. They have a very strong identity but we won't go into the match with a negative mindset. We have to and we want to get points because they're very important for us. Solidity and courage must be our calling card."

PRE-MATCH
A true test, an opponent to be respected, keeping in mind how tough an opponent they have been in the recent past. A year ago, at San Siro, AC Milan went down to the wire and managed to get a draw thanks to a penalty from Kessie. And this season's head-to-head fixture at the Dacia Arena saw the same result: a 1-1 draw, Ibrahimovic's late equaliser which salvaged a point from one Pioli's side's most difficult and negative performances of the season. The Diavolo will be back on the field after the disappointing result in Salerno, determined and ready to get firing once again. One statistic does bode well for the Rossoneri: AC Milan have played twenty Serie A matches on Friday, keeping a clean sheet in ten of them (in the others, they lost only against Roma in 2014 and against Juventus in 2017).

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Matteo Marchetti will referee AC Milan v Udinese. He will be assisted by Galetto and Di Vuolo as linesmen, Guariglio as fourth official and Guida (assisted by Carbone) as VAR. It will be the eighth time he has refereed in Serie A and a little over a year since his debut in the Italian league. He has no previous experience with the Rossoneri, but he has taken charge of one fixture for the Bianconeri in the 1-1 home draw against Verona last October.

AC Milan v Udinese will kick off matchday 27 of Serie A, while Genoa v Inter (21:00) will also be played on Friday. Saturday will see Salernitana v Bologna (15:00), Empoli v Juventus (18:00) and Sassuolo v Fiorentina (20:45). Sunday will see Torino v Cagliari (12.30), Hellas Verona v Venezia (15:00), Spezia v Roma (6pm) and Lazio v Napoli (20:45). On Monday, Atalanta v Sampdoria (20:45).

The current standings: AC Milan 56, Inter 54*, Napoli 54, Juventus 47, Atalanta 44*, Lazio 43, Fiorentina 42*, Roma 41, Hellas Verona 37, Torino 33*, Sassuolo 33, Empoli 31, Bologna 31*, Sampdoria 26, Spezia 26, Udinese 25**, Venezia 22*, Cagliari 22, Genoa 16, Salernitana 14**. (* one game in hand, ** two games in hand).

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