TORINO v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

A late game on a Monday evening with a festive feel, but on a pitch which has been historically difficult for us. The Rossoneri's December in the Serie A begins at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, in the Piedmont capital, which will bring matchday 14 to a close. Kick-off for Torino v AC Milan is at 20:45 CET, which we will have a look at with our Match Preview. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
After the double 1-0 against Lazio - with a victory apiece - the Rossoneri are returning to action, to bounce back from the Coppa Italia elimination and extend our positive form in the league, finding ourselves playing with the knowledge of the results of Napoli, Inter and Roma. Coach Allegri is suspended for the trip away against the Granata, so Landucci will be in the dugout. Christian Pulisic is doubtful in the squad (he was subbed on late in the Capital, but he has a fever), and we will be without Youssouf Fofana. Ricci or Loftus-Cheek will replace the Frenchman, as both players started in Rome. There are not expected to be many changes to the starting eleven in the latter of the two close wins in the league. Athekame and Gimenez are still out. 

Allegri shared his thoughts in his press conference: "Over the last three years at Turin, we've lost three times. We need to face them with humility, the right mindset, and focus, because they're a physical and technical team. I'm not yet 100% satisfied; we all need to feel that way; it's the only way to keep motivated and carry on improving. Every day, we must have the drive to do better. We must strive to achieve the most and believe that anything is possible." 

LATEST FROM TORINO
It's a difficult period of the season for the Granata because, after six games unbeaten (including a win over Napoli and 0-0 draw against Juventus), they fell to two difficult defeats to Como (1-5) and Lecce (1-2) to complicate the situation in the league. Despite this, maximum attention will be needed, especially given Torino's good results against the big teams, as seen against Napoli and also Roma. Baroni isn't likely to change his team much from the side that played in Puglia. Simeone will be unavailable, meaning that either Ngonge or Zapata will partner Adams upfront. The back three is set to be the same with Tameze-Maripán-Coco all sitting in front of Israel. Asllani is likely to start in midfield, Casadei is cautioned. 

Marco Baroni commented on the eve of the match: "We know that AC Milan are a great team and that there can be no distractions. We want to build back our consistency in results and performances that we had over six consecutive games. We are working, both as a team and individually, to sort the setbacks we've faced."

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

• AC Milan have scored in eleven of their last 12 league games against Torino, averaging 1.8 goals per match (22 in total in the period): the only time that they did not score was in the 0-0 draw on 10 April 2022; despite this, the Rossoneri have not scored in six of the last seven first half periods against the Granata. 
• AC Milan are unbeaten in each of their last 12 league games (eight wins, four draws), and have kept a clean-sheet on seven occasions during this time; the last time that the Rossoneri remained unbeaten for more matches without losing in Serie A was in the 2020/21 season (15 on that occasion). 
• Since his first start this season, Rafael Leão is the highest-scoring player, with five goals. The AC Milan forward has averaged 1.6 shots on target per game, as well as 0.9 chances created and 0.7 successful dribbles; in addition, the former is his highest number in a single season since his arrival to Italy (2019/20 season). 

WHERE TO WATCH TORINO v AC MILAN
In Italy, the match will be shown live on DAZN, Sky Sport and NOW. To watch it in a different country, you will need to head to the "AC Milan on TV" section under the heading "Abroad". The Matchday coverage will be available on Milan TV: with the live stream starting from 20:00 CET, leading you right up to kick-off. Following the match, there will be coverage of player interviews and Coach Allegri's press conference. Don't miss the coverage on acmilan.com, AC Milan Official App, the social media channels, and WhatsApp.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Daniele Chiffi will be the referee for the match. This is his second game involving the Rossoneri this season (following AC Milan 2-1 Napoli) and first involving the Granata. His assistants will be Baccini and Bercigli, while the fourth official will be Tremolada, Ghersini will be on VAR, assisted by Abisso.

The match at the Olimpico Grande Torino will be Serie A matchday 14 to a close, which began on Saturday 6 December with Sassuolo 3-1 Fiorentina, Inter 4-0 Como and Hellas Verona 3-1 Atalanta. On Sunday 7 there were Cremonese 2-0 Lecce, Cagliari 1-0 Roma, Lazio 1-1 Bologna and Napoli 2-1 Juventus. Besides Torino v AC Milan at 20:45 CET, the following will also take place on Monday: Pisa v Parma at 15:00 and Udinese v Genoa at 18:00.

The standings: Napoli 31; Inter 30; AC Milan* 28; Roma 27; Bologna 25; Como 24; Juventus 23; Sassuolo and Cremonese 20; Lazio 19; Udinese* 18; Atalanta 16; Torino* and Cagliari 14; Lecce 13; Genoa* and Parma* 11; Pisa* 10; Hellas Verona 9; Fiorentina 6. ^{(*= one less game)}

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