Having received a hammer blow to their title hopes last week, AC Milan must try to respond with a win over free-falling Cremonese on Sunday afternoon.

A 1-0 defeat against Parma ended the Rossoneri’s long unbeaten run in Serie A, also leaving them a distant second behind city rivals Inter Milan. 

Match preview

After going 24 league games without defeat, Milan finally faltered last Sunday, when in-form Parma stunned San Siro with an 80th-minute winner.

While that goal was hotly debated in the aftermath, a VAR check confirmed its validity and the Rossoneri were unable to respond.

With 12 rounds remaining, they trail first-placed Inter by 13 points, so any dreams of the Scudetto seem to be fading.

Max Allegri’s men had previously needed a last-gasp winner to beat lowly Pisa, before scraping a 1-1 home draw with Como, indicating their loss of momentum.

Nonetheless, Milan are still unbeaten on the road, with their only other league loss coming at home to Cremonese on the opening matchday.

They will now reconvene with their Lombardy rivals at Stadio Zini, where the second-city giants have failed to score on their last three visits – albeit only one took place this century.

Following their club’s shock success in August – when Federico Bonazzoli‘s strike sealed a famous 2-1 win – optimistic Cremonese fans will hope for an unprecedented league double over Milan.

However, becoming the first promoted team to pull that feat off since Ascoli did so in 1987 seems a very long shot, with Cremo enduring an awful start to the calendar year.

The Grigiorossi are on their second-worst run ever in Italy’s top flight – failing to even score in 10 of 12 winless matches – and they last tasted success in December.

Last week’s 3-0 loss to Roma at Stadio Olimpico finally allowed Fiorentina to overtake them in a battle between six clubs to avoid the final relegation place.

As a result, Davide Nicola‘s side are sliding towards the trapdoor, sitting 17th in the standings and just outside the drop zone on goal difference.

With Nicola’s job under serious threat, their comeback campaign may be heading for demotion, only one year on from winning the Serie B playoffs.

Cremonese Serie A form:

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AC Milan Serie A form:

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Team News

© Iconsport / SUSA

After suffering a serious facial injury last Sunday, Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be out of action for several weeks, while it remains to be seen whether Matteo Gabbia can recover from a flexor issue.

Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez is the visitors’ only other absentee, as top scorers Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao recently returned to fitness.

Alongside the latter pair, Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug are also in contention for two attacking places.

Luka Modric will surely start in midfield, so the two oldest players to have scored in Serie A this season should meet: 40-year-old Modric and Jamie Vardy, 39.

Cremonese’s front line is enduring a long goal drought, causing Nicola to drop Vardy last week; Bonazzoli has failed to find the net this calendar year. 

Once again, they must both vie with Antonio Sanabria and Vardy’s fellow veteran Milan Djuric for selection.

The hosts will be without Michele Collocolo, Faris Moumbagna and key defender Federico Baschirotto due to injury, but Milan loanee Warren Bondo was back on the bench against Roma and could be ready to start.

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Audero; Terracciano, Luperto, Bianchetti; Zerbin, Thorsby, Bondo, Maleh, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao

We say: Cremonese 0-2 AC Milan

While Milan rank third in Serie A for clean sheets, Cremonese have failed to even score in their last three matches at Stadio Zini.

So, the Rossoneri should comfortably keep their hosts in check while scoring at least twice at the other end.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.