Udinese

AC Milan’s 2024-25 Serie A marketing campaign is drawing to a detailed, and so they have a difficult fixture towards Udinese on the Stadio Friuli in spherical 32.

There’s actually an plain feeling of going via the motions concerning Milan’s league season, provided that the staff are in ninth place and 9 factors away from the Champions League locations. At current, they gained’t even get a European spot in any respect.

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Sergio Conceicao’s personal destiny appears to be marked as just about each main supply is in settlement that he’ll go away the Rossoneri, with . Nonetheless, in he spoke of week of labor at Milanello and a job to do.

Sport date: Friday, April 11Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)Venue: Stadio FriuliReferee: Juan Luca Sacchi (VAR: Marini)

Workforce information

Milan come into the sport having gained simply two of their final seven video games within the league, which has seen the momentum from a four-wins-in-six run earlier within the yr fully disappear. Consequently, ninth place has been consolidated and even Fiorentina in eighth are 4 factors away.

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Thus, the Coppa Italia stays the Rossoneri’s greatest likelihood of stepping into Europe provided that in the event that they carry the trophy they’ll get a Europa League spot. Even in that case although a semi-final second leg towards a rampant Inter awaits, with Bologna prone to be the opponents within the remaining.

The newest sport towards Fiorentina was most likely Conceicao’s tenure summarised in 90 minutes. La Viola went 2-0 up inside 10 minutes due to some comical ‘defending’, however then Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic scored off the bench to earn a draw, although no winner was discovered.

The harm absentees for that sport had been Ruben Loftus-Cheek – who wanted emergency surgical procedure on his appendix earlier than the Napoli match – and Emerson Royal. It’s believed that the midfielder is round three weeks from returning, and the full-back a bit much less.

Extra Tales / The Match

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There are two extra bits of harm information for Conceicao to deal with: Kyle Walker fractured his elbow and it required surgical procedure which means he is not going to make the journey, whereas the coach confirmed that Santiago Gimenez will miss out after taking a bang to his hip from David De Gea.

Alex Jimenez is again after serving a suspension and at current he’s the most definitely candidate to take over from Walker at right-back. Up entrance, with no Gimenez, the concept of utilizing a 4-4-2 has been dismissed by Conceicao who ought to as a substitute select the in-form Abraham.

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Whereas ready for the line-up data from the standard sources, we will predict a again 4 of Jimenez, Matteo Gabbia, Malick Thiaw and Theo Hernandez. Tijjani Reijnders may return to his No.10 spot, flanked by Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao.

Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Jimenez, Gabbia, Thiaw, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Bondo; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham.

The opponents

The 2023-24 season was an odd one for Udinese. They appeared like being relegated for giant stretches provided that they gained only one sport from the beginning of the season to December thirtieth (no prizes for guessing who it was towards).

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They someway ended up surviving, and through our preview forward of the sport at San Siro again in October we went over to try to make 2024-25 a extra comfy marketing campaign.

deserves credit score for the job that he has executed, provided that the Friulian facet are at present in eleventh place on 40 factors from 31 video games. They’ve gained 11 video games, which is greater than some other staff within the backside half of the desk, and they’re solely eight factors behind Milan.

That they had a superb February with wins over Venezia, Empoli, Lecce and Parma plus a draw towards Napoli. Nonetheless, they’re winless in 4 and have misplaced their final three video games towards Verona, Inter and Genoa, scoring simply as soon as within the course of.

Serie A | Udinese 2-0 Cagliari – Friulani again in Champions League spots

Nonetheless, it has been a job convincingly executed by way of securing top-flight standing for one more season, and there have actually been some brilliant spots by way of people who’ve carried out effectively. Extra to return on these.

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When it comes to choice information, Runjaić has an actual downside within the ahead division as a result of Keinan Davis, Alexis Sanchez and Florian Thauvin are all anticipated to overlook out as a result of accidents. Iker Bravo or the younger Simone Pafundi are the contenders to play because the second striker.

Left-back Jordan Zemura, goalkeeper Razvan Sava and defender Isaak Toure will even miss out. The Udinese boss is anticipated to stay with a 4-4-2 system, with Arthur Atta and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp the vast man making an attempt to get service into the damaging Lorenzo Lucca.

Predicted Udinese XI (4-4-2): Okoye; Ehizibue, Bijol, Solet, Kamara; Atta, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp; Bravo, Lucca.

Face to face

AC Milan have performed Udinese 106 instances throughout their historical past in aggressive video games, with a document of 46 wins, 37 attracts and 23 defeats.

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The sport on the Friuli final season was . Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Lazar Samardzic netted to make it 1-1 going into the break, then Florian Thauvin put the house facet forward earlier than Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor struck late to earn Milan a giant win.

Throughout that fixture, the gamers went off the sphere as Mike Maignan complained about repeated racist abuse from just a few Udinese followers, so when Okafor’s shot hit the again of the online deep into added time it felt additional candy. Some followers have tried to within the build-up to this sport.

Key info and stats

➤ After consecutive wins, Udinese have misplaced their final two Serie A matches towards Milan (2-4 on mixture); the Bianconeri may undergo three defeats in a row towards the Rossoneri within the top-flight for the primary time since January/December 2008 (Pasquale Marino on the Bianconeri bench and Carlo Ancelotti on that of Milan).

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➤ Milan will turn out to be the fourth staff towards which Udinese will play a minimum of 100 Serie A video games (at present 99), after Juventus (101), Roma (102) and Inter (104): moreover, the Rossoneri are the staff towards which the Bianconeri have drawn essentially the most matches – 36 (W19 L44) – with the final draw coming, nevertheless, in February 2022 (1-1, targets by Rafael Leão for the Rossoneri and Future Udogie for the Bianconeri).

➤ Milan have misplaced half of their final 16 away video games towards Udinese in Serie A (W5 D3 L8), three extra defeats than they suffered towards the Friulians of their earlier 33 away video games within the match (W12 D16 L5). Within the interval (since Might 2009), solely towards Inter (9) and Juventus (10) have the Rossoneri misplaced extra away video games within the competitors.

➤ After a six-match unbeaten run (W4 D2), Udinese have misplaced their final three league video games; the Friulians may undergo 4 consecutive defeats in a single Serie A season for the primary time for the reason that final 4 matches of the 2022/23 season, underneath Andrea Sottil.

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➤ Milan have conceded precisely two targets in every of their final 4 away league video games (W1 D3); solely on 5 different events have the Rossoneri conceded a minimum of two targets in 5 consecutive away matches within the match, the final time coming between August and October 2013, with Massimiliano Allegri as supervisor.

➤ Milan have conceded eight targets within the first 10 minutes of play in Serie A this season, together with each targets conceded within the final spherical towards Fiorentina; the final time the Rossoneri conceded extra targets on this interval in a single Serie A season was in 1948/49 (12).

➤ For the reason that begin of 2025, with the arrival of Sérgio Conceição, no staff has gone behind extra instances than Milan in Serie A (10, equal to Empoli, Parma and Monza). Nonetheless, on this interval, solely Bologna have gained extra factors (16) after trailing than the Rossoneri(13).

➤ On this Serie A season, solely Inter (130) and Atalanta (121) have extra profitable crosses from open play than Udinese (110, as Bologna), with the Bianconeri additionally having the third most headed targets (9), once more behind Inter (13) and Atalanta (11). Then again Milan have conceded solely three headed targets within the present match, greater than solely Udinese (1) and Napoli (0).

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➤ The second of the 2 targets scored in Serie A by Kingsley Ehizibue got here towards Milan on the Bluenergv Stadium, on 18 March 2023; since then the Dutchman is the defender who has tried essentially the most pictures (37) and had essentially the most touches within the opposition field (76) with out discovering the again of the online in Serie A (in 57 appearances).

➤ Together with his purpose towards Fiorentina, Tammy Abraham has now scored 29 targets in Serie A; solely two English gamers have scored extra within the top-flight than the AC Milan striker – David Platt (31) and Gerald Hitchens (59). Moreover, he may discover the online in three consecutive matches in all competitions for the primary time since he has been taking part in in Italy.

Ones to observe

Abraham will get one other alternative to past his mortgage, whereas Leao and Pulisic will as traditional be the principle threats in transition, and Reijnders can be trying to construct on his 13 targets for the season.

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Nonetheless, what followers have been crying out for is a little bit of solidity. Subsequently, it will likely be mandatory for Fofana to play the function of balancer extra successfully , and the full-backs will play an essential job in serving to shield the centre-backs.

Photograph by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Photographs

There isn’t a doubting that Lucca is Udinese’s hazard man with 12 targets to his identify throughout all competitions, incomes him hyperlinks with some prime golf equipment in Italy together with Milan. Ekkelenkamp has been addition, with six purpose contributions (4 targets, two assists) for the Dutchman from a large place.

Jake Bijol stays the anchor of the defence, and Jesper Karlstrom has been essentially the most relied-upon within the midfield. The Slovenian and the Swede are the one Bianconeri gamers to eclipse 30 begins in all competitions.

Prediction

It’s laborious to really feel assured going into any Milan sport in the meanwhile and that is no exception. Clear sheets appear so distant, as do good first-half performances, so we will anticipate the Diavolo to have to return from behind to seize one thing on the Friuli.

Udinese 1-1 AC Milan