Milan aiming at 17th unbeaten match in Serie A

With Max Allegri on the bench, Milan have never lost to Genoa — in seven matches they have recorded five wins and two draws — and in general, over the last 15 Serie A meetings, Genoa have managed to take all three points from the Rossoneri only once. In the previous two seasons the two rivals drew both times at San Siro, and in the history of meetings between Milan and Genoa it has happened only once that they recorded three consecutive draws in Serie A at the Meazza, in the period between 1976 and 1981. Optimism in Milan has been boosted by the recovery of all injured and ill players, so tonight Allegri will have everyone available except Gimenez and Nkunku.

We will see Milan’s goal-scoring partnership of Leao and Pulisic from the first minute for only the third time. The two of them have the best goals-per-minute rate among Serie A players who have scored five or more goals. The American scores on average every 76 minutes, and Rafa Leao every 122. The fact that this season they have played just 136 minutes together on the pitch, yet Milan are near the top of the table, with an excellent chance to close to within a point of Inter and leave Napoli three steps behind, is extremely encouraging for the Rossoneri’s boldest ambitions.

Sweet words and more money for Maignan’s new contract at Milan

There is no doubt that the seriousness of Milan’s title bid depends on the success of Allegri’s experiment of transforming Leao from a winger into a central striker. Allegri’s players will have to be very cautious tonight, not only because Napoli ‘slipped‘ yesterday against Verona at home, but also because Milan themselves have had several slip-ups at home against teams outside the Serie A elite. The defeat to Cremonese and the draws with Pisa and Sassuolo at San Siro are very painful reminders. In addition, Genoa are a team that play better away from home than at their own stadium, as shown by their points tally — six at the Marassi, eight away.

Rafael Leao lights up a dark night for the Rossoneri

However, unlike Milan, who are almost at full strength, Daniele De Rossi cannot rely on six players. Onana is at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Ekuban, Sigrist, Messias, Gronbæk, and Cornet are injured. De Rossi had hoped for some “gifts” at the start of the January transfer window, but they have yet to arrive. After a run of good results following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira, Genoa have slipped into a small crisis again: in their last four matches they have collected just one point and scored only two goals.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 19

Tuesday

Pisa - Como 0-3 (0-0)

/Perrone 68, Douvikas 76, 90+6 pen/

Lecce - Roma 0-2 (0-1)

/Ferguson 14, Dovbyk 71/

Sassuolo - Juventus 0-3 (0-1)

/Muharemovic 16 og, Miretti 62, David 63/

Wednesday

Bologna - Atalanta 0-2 (0-1)

/Krstovic 37, 60/

Napoli - Verona 2-2 (0-2)

/McTominay 54, Di Lorenzo 82 - Frese 16, Orban 28 pen/

Lazio - Fiorentina 2-2 (0-0)

/Cataldi 52, Pedro 90+5 (p) - Gosens 56, Guðmundsson 89 (p)

Parma - Inter 0-2 (0-1)

/Dimarco 42, Thuram 90+8/

Torino - Udinese 1-2 (0-0)

/Casadei 87 - Zaniolo 50, Ekkelenkamp 82/

Thursday

20.30: (2.45) Cremonese (3.15) Cagliari (3.05)

22.45: (1.43) Milan (4.30) Genoa (8.00)

***odds are subject to change***