Venezia vs AC Milan

Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at Stadio Piero Luigi Penzo as Venezia take on AC Milan in a match they cannot afford to lose.

Venezia squandered the lead in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Empoli last weekend and, as a result, finished the round in the bottom three, a point adrift of safety. Breaking the deadlock won’t guarantee success for Eusebio Di Francesco’s men, who have dropped a league-high 28 points from winning positions this season. With only five games left and four top-half opponents waiting in the wings, Venezia must punch above their weight to avoid immediate relegation to Serie B. The hosts can take confidence from losing just one of their last eight competitive outings (W1, D6), with their only win in that sequence coming at home against dead-last Monza. Therefore, Venezia could post back-to-back home league victories in Serie A for the first time since January 2000.

On the other hand, last weekend’s 1-0 home loss to Atalanta means Milan could post their worst Serie A finish since 2014/15, with Sergio Conceicao’s charges stranded in ninth, eight points behind sixth-placed Lazio. As such, Milan’s best hope of securing European football for next season comes through their impressive Coppa Italia journey, with ‘I Rossoneri’ beating Inter Milan 3-0 to reach the final for the first time since 2018. Building momentum ahead of the impending title-deciding fixture against Bologna is imperative for Milan, who boast an eye-catching four-game winning streak against Venezia, with their last three H2H wins coming by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ including a 4-0 rout in September’s reverse fixture. Moreover, they’ve won all six matches against sides starting this matchday in the bottom four, keeping five clean sheets in the process.