AC MILAN v EMPOLI: MATCH PREVIEW

After two trips away from home, either side of the international break, Stefano Pioli's Rossoneri are back at San Siro for matchday 29 of Serie A. The main aims are twofold: build on the win over Napoli and get back to winning ways at home. Taking all three points would see the Rossoneri maintain their grip on third place in the table and, at the same time, build a run of form ahead of the Champions League quarter-final. They welcome Paolo Zanetti's Empoli, who will be hungry to avenge the loss in the reverse fixture and draw away from the relegation zone. Ahead of kick-off, at 21:00 CEST, let's take a look at all the key talking points with our Match Preview:

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The 4-0 win over Napoli has given the Rossoneri a fresh injection of enthusiasm as they - with the full backing of the home supporters - go on the hunt for three more massive points in the race for Champions League football. The game against Empoli at San Siro is not to be taken lightly so the team will need to play with the same attitude and determination from the win at the Maradona. There are no suspensions in the Rossoneri camp but Pioli will still have to make do without the injury Kalulu and Ibrahimović. Thiaw looks set to start ahead of Kjær, while De Ketelaere and Saelemaekers could be preferred over Krunić and Díaz.

"Games are won first through attitude and desire and then through quality," Stefano Pioli said in his pre-match press conference. "Empoli are a team with pace and good technicians; we'll need to respect them because they've been playing with this system for years. It would be a mistake to already be thinking about the Champions League. Full focus on the Empoli game."

LATEST FROM EMPOLI
Zanetti's men won last time out, beating Lecce 1-0 at the Castellani. The victory over the Giallorossi ended a run of eight games without a win for the Azzurri; their last taste of success before that was, in fact, at San Siro, 1-0 against Inter (Baldanzi with the goal). 31 points is a respectable total for a side currently 12 points clear of the drop zone. As well as Tonelli, the Empoli boss will have to make do without Vicario, who is recovering from injury - Perisan has been deputising in his absence. The only change from the win over Lecce should be Satriano coming in to partner Caputo in Empoli's usual 4-3-1-2.

"Taking on Milan is always a tough task. They're coming off an amazing performance and they have a lot of great technical players," Paolo Zanetti said. "It'll be important for us to remain focused and determined, as we were against Lecce. We want to put in a good performance in front of the massive San Siro crowd."

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN v EMPOLI
The game will be broadcast live in Italy on DAZN and Sky from 21:00 CEST. To watch the game abroad, head to the "Abroad" section of the page "Where to watch AC Milan on TV".

Before the game, head to Milan TV for our Matchday programme. Coverage starts at 19:45 CEST and will run right up to kick-off at San Siro. After the game, we will have analysis, interviews and Stefano Pioli's press conference.

Head to our Twitch channel for the Live Reaction to AC Milan v Empoli, starting at 20:55 CEST, with Francesco Specchia, Lollo and more. Also, don't miss our live feeds on all of our social media channels, on acmilan.com and via our Official App.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Matteo Marcenaro will take charge of AC Milan v Empoli, his twelfth game in the Italian top flight. He has never before refereed a game involving the Rossoneri, but this will be his third match involving Zanetti's Azzurri. Assisting him will be linesmen Mondin and De Meo and fourth official Rapuano. Valeri, assisted by Di Martino, is on VAR duty.

The Friday-night kick-offs on Serie A matchday 29 are as follows: Salernitana v Inter at 17:00 CEST, Lecce v Napoli at 19:00 and our game at 21:00. The rest of this matchday will be played tomorrow, Saturday 8 April: Udinese v Monza at 12:30, followed by Fiorentina v Spezia and 14:30, Atalanta v Bologna and Sampdoria v Cremonese at 16:30, Hellas Verona v Sassuolo and Torino v Roma at 18:30. Lazio v Juventus, at 20:45, will conclude the matchday.

Here are the current standings in Serie A: Napoli 71; Lazio 55; Milan 51; Inter, Roma 50; Atalanta 48; Juventus 44; Bologna, Fiorentina 40; Torino, Udinese 38; Sassuolo 37; Monza 34; Empoli 31; Salernitana 28; Lecce 27; Spezia 25; Hellas Verona 19; Sampdoria 15; Cremonese 13.

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