AC MILAN v ATALANTA: MATCH PREVIEW | OneFootball

The finishing line is coming up soon; we might be top but there's still work to be done. AC Milan are close to a special end to the season and the Atalanta game is their final match in front of the home crowd at San Siro this campaign. This is a must-win match against the Nerazzurri as the Rossoneri look to go one step closer to the realisation of a dream, though they shouldn't dwell too much on the potential mathematical outcomes. We have collated all of the information that you need on the game; take a look at our Match Preview:

LATEST FROM MILANELLO Morale is high in the Rossoneri household following a stunning comeback in Verona, which saw AC Milan keep a firm grip on their own destiny. The Rossoneri need four points from their last two games to win the Scudetto and could even wrap up the title this Sunday should they better Inter's result - the Nerazzurri play Cagliari away right after the Rossoneri's game. Everyone is available - with the exception of long-term absentee Kjær - though Stefano Pioli will have to deal with the possibility of risking suspension for five players: Díaz, Kalulu, Leão, Romagnoli and Tomori are all one yellow card away from a ban.

"We’ve essentially been playing knockout matches since the Lazio match, with these games weighing heavily on the league table," said Stefano Pioli on the eve of the game. "We’ve overcome some difficult obstacles, and tomorrow there will be another one against a team that will force us to play our very best football. We need to be self-aware in our approach to the match; we’ve been very good so far, but we also need to be very good from tomorrow until the end. We mustn’t think beyond 17:59 CEST tomorrow evening and instead only focus on the game. The result will determine what comes next."

LATEST FROM ATALANTA The win in La Spezia has kept Atlanta's hopes of a sixth consecutive season with European football alive. A result at San Siro would be exceptional for La Dea and would make up for their poor form this calendar year. The Nerazzurri have no players suspended, though Malinovskyi and Palomino are at risk of a ban. During the week, Pezzella, Sportiello and Tolói trained separately. While Iličić is unavailable, Scalvini and Zapata should be at Gasperini's disposal. In their last game, Atalanta lined up with their usual 3-4-2-1 system: Musso; de Roon, Palomino, Djimsiti; Zappacosta, Koopmeiners, Freuler, Mæhle; Malinovskyi and Pašalić in behind lone striker Muriel.

PRE-MATCH Joy and pain. Results have been mixed for the Rossoneri against Atalanta recently. Even though AC Milan haven't beaten La Dea at San Siro since January 2014, they have won both of their last two games against the Nerazzurri (both in Bergamo): the memorable win on 23 May 2021 and the 3-2 victory last October. The Rossoneri are currently on top in the overall head-to-head record against Atalanta (W53, D43, L25) but this is still a really tricky fixture, even with the two sides in vastly different form. AC Milan have recorded four consecutive victories and are unbeaten in 14, while Atalanta have won twelve games away from home this season (only AC Milan have done better in the current Serie A campaign) but haven't yet won two games on the spin in 2022.

LATEST FROM SERIE A Daniele Orsato will referee the game at San Siro. The 46-year-old, who is one of Europe's most experienced officials, has taken charge of more Champions League games than any other Italian in history and is about to officiate his 31st game involving the Rossoneri. This season, he also refereed our win over Napoli. His team of officials against Atalanta will include Giallatini and Preti as linesmen and Rapuano as fourth official. Irrati - assisted by Dionisi - is on VAR duty.

Serie A matchday 37 began yesterday with Empoli 1-1 Salernitana, Udinese X.X Spezia, Hellas Verona X-X Torino and Roma X-X Spezia. The result from today's 12:30 CEST kick-off was Bologna X-X Sassuolo and the day continues with - apart from AC Milan v Atalanta - Napoli v AC  Genoa at 15:00 CEST and Cagliari v Inter at 20:45 CEST. Two games are being played tomorrow: Sampdoria v Fiorentina (18:30 CEST) and Juventus v Lazio (20:45 CEST).

Here are the current standings: AC Milan 80; Inter 78; Napoli 73; Juventus 69; Lazio 62; Roma 60*; Fiorentina and Atalanta 59; Hellas Verona* 52; Torino 50*; Sassuolo 47; Udinese* 44; Bologna 43; Empoli* 38; Spezia* 36; Sampdoria 33; Salernitana* 31; Cagliari 29; Genoa 28; Venezia 26. (* = one game more)

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