SASSUOLO v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

AC Milan gear up to face Sassuolo on matchday 35 of Serie A, scheduled for Sunday 3 May at 15:00 CEST at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia. Coach Allegri's squad is ready for the final push to consolidate their position in the table and secure qualification for next season's Champions League. Sassuolo have had a strong run and will be a challenging opponent. Here's our Match Preview. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
AC Milan head into this game on the back of a win and a draw in their two most recent matches against Verona and Juventus. The team have done well to move past their two defeats against Napoli and Udinese to get their season back on track. It was a much-needed response, but now it's time for the final push to secure a top-four finish. Luka Modrić will miss the game after undergoing surgery for a fracture to his left cheekbone, while Jashari and Ricci are potential options to start in Modrić's place. David Odogu is also ruled out because of an injury. The rest of the squad is available for what will be one of the four fixtures in May. The players at risk of suspension are: Athekame, Estupiñan, Fofana, Leão, and Saelemaekers. 

Allegri commented on the eve of the showdown: "Either Jashari or Ricci will play in Luka's place. They have both come a long way, and I trust them. Tomorrow will be a challenging game as Sassuolo are having a great season with very good players and a great coach. We need six more points to mathematically secure Champions League qualification; we can't lose sight of the objective. We need to stay focused and take it one step at a time." 

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LATEST FROM SASSUOLO
Sassuolo come into the game following a goalless draw against Fiorentina, a result that highlighted the defensive strength of Grosso's side. Sassuolo have proven their great form in recent games, winning five of their last seven home matches and picking up 23 points from their last 13 games. The side from Emilia will look to take advantage of the home support, as well as Berardi's return following his two-match suspension, to secure a positive result against AC Milan. With a string of impressive performances, Sassuolo are determined to continue their strong momentum in the league. 

Grosso commented in his press conference: "We're very driven, we can still improve, and we want to continue doing so. I hope we can play a great game because this team deserves to end the season on a high. There will be times when we will try to be aggressive; we've got different options ready, but we know we'll need to be at our very best if we want to come away with a positive result." 

PRE-MATCH STATS

• AC Milan are unbeaten in their last eight away league matches against Sassuolo, recording six wins and two draws. Their last Serie A defeat at the Mapei Stadium was back on 6 March 2016 when Sassuolo won 2-0 thanks to goals from Alfred Duncan and Nicola Sansone. 
• AC Milan have kept a clean sheet in their last two league games (against Verona and Juventus) and could extend that to three consecutive clean sheets for the second time this season, after doing so last September. The last time the Rossoneri had more than 15 clean sheets at this point in a Serie A season was in 2011/12 (17, when they finished second). 
• Matteo Gabbia has been available to Massimiliano Allegri over the last two league games (1-0 v Verona and 0-0 v Juventus). With him on the pitch, AC Milan have only lost 4% of their Serie A games this season (one out of 26: 15 wins, 10 draws), averaging 2.1 points per game. Without him there, the defeat rate goes up by 50% (four out of eight, with four wins), and the points average drops to 1.5 per game. 

WHERE TO WATCH SASSUOLO v AC MILAN
In Italy, the match will be broadcast live on DAZN. To watch it from abroad, you can check the "Where to Watch AC Milan on TV" section under "Abroad". On the Rossoneri's official channels, coverage begins with Matchday on Milan TV, going live at 14:15 CEST right up until kick-off. Afterwards, there will be post-match interviews and Coach Allegri's press conference. Don't miss the full coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App, the club's official social media channels, and WhatsApp.

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LATEST FROM SERIE A
The match will be officiated by Fabio Maresca, with Giorgio Peretti and Filippo Bercigli as assistants. Livio Marinelli will be the fourth official, and Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni will be the VAR official, assisted by Giacomo Paganessi.

Here is the schedule for matchday 35 of Serie A: Friday kicked off the matchday with Pisa 1-2 Lecce, Saturday featured Udinese 2-0 Torino, Como 0-0 Napoli, and Atalanta 0-0 Genoa. On Sunday at 12:30 CEST, Bologna v Cagliari, at 15:00 CEST Sassuolo v AC Milan, at 18:00 CEST Juventus v Hellas Verona, and at 20:45 CEST Inter v Parma. Monday closes out the matchday with Cremonese v Lazio at 18:30 CEST and Roma v Fiorentina at 20:45 CEST.

Here are the current standings: Inter 79; Napoli* 70; AC Milan 67; Juventus 64; Como* 62; Roma 61; Atalanta* 55; Lazio and Bologna 48; Udinese* 47; Sassuolo 46; Parma 42, Torino* 41; Genoa* 40; Fiorentina 37; Cagliari 36; Lecce* 32; Cremonese 28; Verona 19; Pisa* 18. ^{(* A game in hand)}

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