Title-chasing AC Milan will travel to Venice this Sunday to face Venezia in a 21st Round fixture of the 2021/22 Serie A season.
Venue: Stadio Pierluigi Penzo (Venice)
Key Statistics
Venezia are winless in their last six games (D2, L4).
Four of their last six home league matches have seen the opener scored within the first 15 minutes of play.
The hosts have conceded at least one goal in eight of their nine home matches this season.
They have lost five of their nine home matches so far.
AC Milan have won seven of their ten away matches.
They have scored in each of those ten away games.
AC Milan have led at half-time in eleven of the 20 league matches they have played this season.
The visitors have scored in each of their last 10 away matches.
26% of AC Milan’s conceded goals occurred in the first 15 minutes.
Head to head
Clashes between AC Milan and Venezia have been largely dominated by the ‘Rossoneri’ since the first edition in 1939. In 27 meetings between both sides, AC Milan have 16 wins, and seven draws while Venezia have won just four times in that period.
Latest Performances in all competitions
Venezia: L-D-W-D-L
AC Milan: W-W-L-D-L
Venezia
After missing out on Serie A action since December, Venezia are back in the league this Sunday looking to get back to winning ways.
The hosts were one of eight clubs to have their opening match of 2022 cancelled at short notice. They even travelled to Salernitana in what was supposed to be their last game before this tie, but the game was called off due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the home side’s camp.
Their last outing was a 1-3 home loss against Lazio on December 22. The result was Venezia’s tenth loss of the season and brought their winless run to six matches in the league.
They have won four of their last eight matches in Serie A and have averaged 0.95 goals per game since the beginning of the season in the league. However, over the last eight games, their form has improved as they have scored 1.25 goals per game in that period, which is 31.6% higher than their overall season’s average.
They remain five points ahead of Cagliari who are occupying the last relegation spot on the table. A positive result from this game will give them a big boost as they attempt to play a second straight season in the top flight.
Possible Venezia starting line-ups
Niki Maenpaa; Pasquale Mazzocchi, Michael Svoboda, Pietro Ceccaroni, Ridgeciano Haps; Busio, Ethan Ampadu, Domen Crnigoj; Mattia Aramu, Sofian Kiyine; Thomas Henry.
Injured: Sergio Romero
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Tanner Tessmann and Mattia Caldara
Unavailable: Tyronne Ebuehi
AC Milan
AC Milan will look to continue their impressive start to 2022 when they make the trip to Venice this Sunday.
The Rossoneri began the year with a 3-1 home win against AS Roma. An early goal through Olivier Giroud and further strikes from Junior Messias and substitute Rafael Leao gave Milan a commanding lead and helped them narrow the gap between them and Inter Milan at the top to one point.
They will now look to continue that run of form to keep themselves within touching distance of Inter. A win will also take them temporarily top of the table as Inter Milan don’t play Lazio until later in the day.
Meanwhile, Stefano Pioli, who is taking charge of his 400th Serie A game, has moved AC Milan from also-rans to title contenders. However, by this time last year, Milan were top of the table. But a drastic drop of form saw them lose their place at the top to Inter, who eventually won the title.
As such, the visitors will be desperate to avoid such a scenario. With 45 points so far this season, AC Milan have picked up one point less than they did last season after 20 matches.
Possible AC Milan starting line-ups
Mike Maignan; Alessandro Florenzi, Pierre Kalulu, Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Tiemoue Bakayoko, Sandro Tonali; Junior Messias, Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Injured: Pietro Pellegri
Doubtful: Fikayo Tomori, Davide Calabria, Alessio Romagnoli, Samu Castillejo, Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Franck Kessie, Ismael Bennacer, Fode Ballo-Toure
Prediction
Venezia 0-3 AC Milan
