AC Milan vs Monza prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-12-16 11:30.
AC Milan’s up-and-down campaign continued as they came from behind to beat Newcastle 2-1 on Wednesday, a win only good enough to drop them into the UEFA Europa League. It was still a fine response to last weekend’s last-gasp 3-2 Serie A (SA) defeat to Atalanta that left them seven points behind the top-two after the matchday, especially after manager Stefano Pioli had warned his side about needing to improve.
If they are to close that sizeable gap to leaders Inter Milan and Juventus, then building on two straight home league wins will be a start, part of a longer run in which they’ve only lost two of their last 16 home SA fixtures (W11, D3). With Zlatan Ibrahimović back at the club as a consultant, more of the same seems likely here as they’ve never lost at home against Monza (W5).
Monza’s 4-1 defeat here last season was the first time they’d ever scored in a H2H at the San Siro, which suggests another tough afternoon is on the cards for the visitors. However, they continue to punch above their weight in the league, occupying a comfortable mid-table position as they’ve lost only one of their last six SA fixtures (W2, D3) after beating Genoa 1-0 last Sunday.
They’re on a decent run of form on the road too (W2, D2, L1) and that’s despite them failing to score in the opening 30 minutes of any league away game this term (W2, D2, L3)! Another slow start could be problematic as the Biancorossi conceded before the 35th minute in both H2Hs last season (L2) and in each of the last four here (L4).
Players to watch: Christian Pulisic found the net between half-time and the 60th minute for the second time in three Milan matches in midweek, while Lorenzo Colombo has netted three goals across Monza’s last four SA away games, twice between the 65th and 75th minute.
Hot streak: None of Monza’s last ten SA fixtures saw both teams score before half-time (HT: W3, D5, L2).