WOMEN, SAMPDORIA v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

At a delicate moment, a tough trip awaits. The Rossonere can no longer finish the regular season in fifth place but, on Valentine's Day, want to react and return to winning ways. AC Milan and Sampdoria played out a 1-1 draw when they met earlier on in the season (Asllani's first-half goal was cancelled out by Taty's penalty after the restart), and a win would see the Rossonere draw level with tomorrow's opponents in the table. It's been a while since Coach Corti's side last picked up three points away from the PUMA House of Football, and recording a victory on matchday 17 would be a real confidence boost going into the next stage of the season. Here is our Match Preview, providing you with everything you need to know ahead of Sampdoria v AC Milan.

LATEST FROM PUMA HOUSE OF FOOTBALL
Corti's girls find themselves in a disappointing position and are eager to get back to winning ways and finish the regular season on a high. Samp are tough opponents, but this is the moment to pull together, display real character and turn things around on the road: the Rossonere haven't won in seven away games, failing to score in five of these fixtures. Laurent, who was shown a red card after the full-time whistle last time out, is suspended for two matches, but it's the group that must make the difference.

The Rossonere squad: Babb, Giuliani, Tornaghi; Bergamaschi, Fusetti, Guagni, Mesjasz, Piga; Cesarini, Dubcová, Grimshaw, Mascarello, Rubio Ávila, Soffia, Vigilucci; Arrigoni, Dompig, Ijeh, Marinelli, Nadim, Stašková.

LATEST FROM SAMPDORIA
Coach Mango's side are in steady form, despite recently falling to a narrow away defeat (2-1) to high-flying Fiorentina. Nevertheless, the Blucerchiate have struggled for goals on home soil (they've only scored three), where they've picked up just seven of their 18 points so far. On the other hand, they haven't lost at their ground since November and have kept three consecutive clean sheets at home, beating Juventus and Pomigliano (both 1-0) in the process. In between, they played out a goalless stalemate with Napoli, a result that slowed down their pursuit of fifth place, which they now trail by five points with two games to go. Taty, who netted in the reverse fixture, is their biggest threat, but Samp have interesting players all over the pitch.

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

• The upcoming clash will be the sixth meeting between Sampdoria and AC Milan in Serie A. The five previous encounters have seen the Rossonere emerge victorious on four occasions (one draw), score eleven and concede just two.
• Andrea Stašková has been on the end of eight fouls in the final third this league season; only Violah Nambi (13) and Taty (16) are ahead of her in this regard.
• Only Manuela Giugliano (30) has created more chances for her teammates from dead ball situations than Marta Mascarello (18), who has provided two of her three assists this season from set-pieces: one from an indirect free-kick (against Pomigliano on 22 October) and another from a corner (against Como on 22 January).

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
In Italy, Sampdoria v AC Milan will be broadcast live on DAZN at 15:00 CET. Don't miss coverage on acmilan.com, the Rossonere's official social media channels and on the AC Milan Official App where, the day after, the full game will be available.

LATEST FROM THE WOMEN'S SERIE A
The referee for Sampdoria v AC Milan will be Simone Gauzolino. He will have Franco and Tomasi as his assistants, while Bassetti will perform the role of fourth official.

Matchday 17 in the women's Serie A division kicked off earlier on today, as Roma faced Sassuolo at home. Three fixtures will take place tomorrow: Sampdoria v AC Milan (15:00 CET), Como v Fiorentina (15:00 CET) and Inter v Juventus (19:00 CET). The latest round of fixtures will come to an end when Napoli face Pomigliano at 20:30 CET on Thursday.

Standings: Roma 45; Juventus 37; Fiorentina 36; Inter 26; Sassuolo 23; Como Women and Sampdoria 18; AC Milan 15; Pomigliano 6; Napoli 3.

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