AC Milan will be targeting a return to winning ways as they welcome in-from Atalanta to San Siro for a Serie A fixture on Sunday. Neither team has shown much defensive solidity in recent weeks and given the quality in both attacks, goals could be expected here.
It has been a difficult week for AC Milan, who head into Sunday’s clash with two straight defeats. First they were beaten 4-2 at Monza last time out in Serie A before suffering a 3-2 defeat to Rennes in their Europa League playoff clash on Thursday.
Despite the defeat to Rennes, AC Milan still progressed in the Europa League thanks to the 3-0 victory in the first leg. The last two results also highlighted some defensive vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a rampant Atalanta side.
The good news for AC Milan is that they have been on the road in recent weeks and are returning to the fortress of San Siro. Stefano Pioli’s men are unbeaten in their last seven Serie A home matches, claiming six wins in that run.
Atalanta have been one of the form sides in recent weeks as they are unbeaten in their last nine matches. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have picked up eight wins in that run and are currently fourth on the standings.
The Bergamo club travel to San Siro off the back of a 3-0 victory over Sassuolo in their previous Serie A future. Mario Pasalic opened the scoring early in the first half while Teun Koppmeiners and Mitchel Bakker added further goals after the break.
A slight problem for Atalanta is their away form having picked up just one win in their last five Serie A matches on the road. However that win came in their previous away fixture as they triumphed 4-1 at Genoa.
How the bookies view it
AC Milan have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 11/8 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Atalanta is valued at 2/1 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 13/5 by William Hill.
Head to head
AC Milan have a 25-12 advantage with 15 draws from 52 previous matches against Atalanta. However, the Bergamo club have beaten Milan twice this season, claiming a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture before earning a 2-1 win in a Coppa Italia clash.
Players to watch
Olivier Giroud is the leading scorer for AC Milan with 12 goals and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The French striker was on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 2/1 by bet365 to find the net once again.
Teun Koppmeiners has been the man in form for Atalanta in recent weeks with six goals in his last five matches. The forward also netted a brace in the Coppa Italia victory and is priced at 4/1 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
AC Milan and Atalanta have been involved in high scoring fixtures in recent weeks and Sunday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern. Over 4.5 goals is valued at 9/2 by BetVictor, over 3.5 goals is priced at 2/1 with bet365, who is also offering odds of 4/5 for over 2.5 goals.
There have been more goals after the break in AC Milan’s last three matches and a similar pattern is priced at 11/10 by Paddy Power.
This Serie A match between AC Milan and Atalanta will be played on Feb 25, 2024 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.
