AC Milan are in desperate need of a turnaround in fortunes to revive their title defence as they host Sassuolo in a Serie A fixture on Sunday.
Milan’s title defence looks to be quickly unravelling as they are now 12 points behind Serie A leaders Napoli. They have failed to claim a win in their last five matches across all competitions, suffering three defeats in that run.
The Rossoneri are coming off their worst defeat of the season as they were beaten 4-0 at Lazio in midweek. They lacked the cutting edge in attack but were mostly disappointing at the back, falling behind as early as the fourth minute.
A small positive for AC Milan is that they had been on a six-match unbeaten run in Serie A prior to the defeat at Lazio. Stefano Pioli’s men have also remained largely solid at home and have claimed four wins and a draw from their last five league matches at the San Siro.
AC Milan may be out of sorts at the moment but Sassuolo have looked worse throughout the season. They are struggling near the bottom end of the table and are sitting just five points above the relegation zone.
Sassuolo have been so poor lately that they travel to Milan with just one win from their last 11 Serie A matches. Alessio Dionisi’s men have suffered eight defeats in that run, although they played out a 1-1 draw at Monza in their previous fixture.
The manager is unlikely to be pleased with the result at Monza as Sassuolo missed several chances to end their winless run. They are now without a win in their last six away matches in Serie A, suffering five defeats in that run.
How the bookies view it
AC Milan are still considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 18/35 by SBK. A win for Sassuolo is valued at 11/2 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 19/5 by Unibet.
Head to head
AC Milan have an 11-6 advantage with three draws from 20 previous matches against Sassuolo. The reverse fixture ended in a 0-0 draw while Sassuolo have won the last two meetings at San Siro.
Players to watch
Rafael Leao has come in for some criticism over his recent performances and will be keen for a response. The Portugal forward is the leading scorer for AC Milan with eight Serie A goals and is priced at 7/4 by Unibet to get on the score sheet.
Sassuolo have not been particularly prolific lately but AC Milan’s poor defensive showing at Lazio will give them hope. Domenico Berardi often carries the attacking threat and is priced at 10/3 by Paddy Power to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
AC Milan and Sassuolo have shown defensive vulnerability this season and both teams could be backed to score at 7/10 with Unibet. The last meeting at San Siro produced over 3.5 goals and a repeat is priced at 27/20 by Unibet while over 2.5 goals is valued at 8/15 by SBK.
The minimal odds for a straight AC Milan victory means that a win and over 2.5 goals could offer more value at 21/20 with 10bet. The Rossoneri have also scored in both halves in their last five Serie A home matches and could be set for a repeat at 11/10 with bet365.
This Serie A match between AC Milan and Sassuolo will be played on Jan 29, 2023 and kick off at 11:30. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Sassuolo prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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