AC Milan are aiming to maintain their recent good form as they host Atalanta in Serie A on Sunday.
The hosts appear to have put their problems behind them and are slowly getting their campaign back on track. However, that poor run in January appears to have done serious damage to their title defence and they may have to make do with just a top four finish.
The Rossoneri head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 1-0 victory over Monza in their previous Serie A fixture. Junior Messias’ first half effort proved to be the difference as they claimed their third straight 1-0 win across all competitions.
AC Milan’s recent resurgence can be attributed to a tactical switch to three at the back from manager Stefano Pioli. While they are still not scoring enough, their defence is now more compact and has kept clean sheets in the last three matches.
While AC Milan are getting their campaign back on track, the opposite appears to be happening to Atalanta. They have lost three of their last four matches across all competitions and their top four challenge seems in danger of unravelling.
Atalanta are coming off a 2-1 home defeat to Lecce in their previous Serie A fixture. They went two goals down and fell just short of a dramatic late comeback with Rasmus Hojlund pulling one back three minutes from time.
While a 2-0 victory at Lazio in their previous away fixture will give Atalanta some hope as they travel to the San Siro, their recent record on the road has been a bit suspect. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men were winless in their previous three away fixtures, suffering successive 1-0 defeats to Sassuolo and Inter Milan in that run.
How the bookies view it
AC have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 6/5 with 10bet. A victory for Atalanta is valued at 23/10 with Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 12/5 by bet365.
Head to head
AC Milan have a 24-10 advantage with 15 draws from 49 previous matches against Atalanta. While both teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back August, the Rossoneri had won the previous three meetings, including a 2-0 victory in the last clash at the San Siro.
Players to watch
The effects of AC Milan's tactical switch has been obvious with the trio of Pierre Kalulu, Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw making them a bit more compact at the back. All three men can lead the Rossoneri to a fourth straight clean sheet across all competitions at 21/10 with BoyleSports.
At the other end if the pitch, Olivier Giroud could be worth keeping an eye on for AC Milan having scored in their previous Serie A home fixture. The French striker now has seven goals this season and is priced at 15/8 by bet365 to find the net on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
AC Milan have won to nil in their last three matches across all competitions and could be set for a repeat at 16/5 with BetVictor. Having claimed a 2-0 victory in the last meeting at the San Siro, they could also be backed in the -1 handicap market at 17/5 with BetVictor.
The Rossoneri have seen under 2.5 goals in their last three matches and a repeat could be on the cards at 10/11 with William Hill.
This Serie A match between AC Milan and Atalanta will be played on Feb 26, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Atalanta prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
