AC Milan has a goalscoring machine that is arguably unique. Call it, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (40 years) and Olivier Giroud (35 years).
Currently, AC Milan's top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic is sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury. As a substitute, AC Milan still has a reliable Olivier Giroud.
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| source instgram: Giroud celebrates goal in derby |
The Salernitana vs AC Milan duel will be held at the Arechi Stadium, Here are the predictions, head to head, line-up:
Salernitana vs AC Milan duel is like heaven and earth. The reason, the host is currently at the bottom of the standings, while the guests occupy the top position.
This fact is enough to describe how Salernitana's performance was less than optimal in the Italian League Serie A.
AC Milan, meanwhile, are in a positive spirit as they won the Derby Della Madonnina and beat Sampdoria while taking the top spot.
Not only that, AC Milan also reached the Coppa Italia semifinals with a resounding 4-0 victory over Lazio.
This series of sweet results is an illustration of the fighting power of Stefano Pioli's team which is not easily extinguished.
While veteran talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been sidelined with a lengthy injury, others have stepped back to their best.
Call it Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao.
They have been directly involved in five of AC Milan's last eight goals in the Italian League Serie A.
Under Stefano Pioli, AC Milan have also won 33 of their 46 away games.
No wonder AC Milan is the favorite as a candidate to win the Italian League this season.
While Salernitana have only won one Serie A game against AC Milan in their history, and none since 1948.
For most of that time the city of Salerno was thrown out of the top caste of the Italian League.
So far this season, Salernitana has only collected 13 points from 23 Serie A matches.
Often limited in possession, Salernitana also recorded the lowest possession statistic (38 percent) in the Italian League Serie A this season.
Although they managed to hold Genoa to a 1-1 draw last week, they are still two points behind Genoa who are 19th in the standings.
That fact makes it possible for Salernitana to find it difficult to survive in Serie A.
Ibra Still Injured
AC Milan's top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic is yet to return to full training, as the 40-year-old striker continues to suffer from inflammation of the Achilles tendon and is unlikely to feature once again.
In Ibrahimovic's absence, Olivier Giroud will lead the line, having scored seven Serie A goals in nine games as a starter for the club.
But he has yet to score a goal away from the San Siro.
Both Matteo Gabbia and new signing Marko Lazetic trained individually this week. They are also doubtful.
At the back, Simon Kjaer is still absent in the long term.
Stefano Pioli should have a full squad to choose from.
And influential full-back Theo Hernandez is tipped to return to the starting eleven after serving a suspension following the derby clash.
Meanwhile, the hosts are likely to return to field Diego Perotti who will be competing with Milan Djuric to join Simone Verdi in attack, although both Francesco Di Tacchio and Federico Bonazzoli are also in contention.
Franck Ribery was supposed to be fielded at some stage by new Salernitana coach, Davide Nicola.
But the French winger last scored in Serie A against AC Milan almost 12 months ago - since failing to find the net in 22 league games.
Lineup Prediction
Salernitana
Sepe; Mazzocchi, Fazio, Dragusin, Ranieri; Radovanovic, L Coulibaly, Ederson; Verdi, Perotti; Djuric
AC Milan
Maignan; Calabria, Romagnoli, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud.
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