WOMEN, SASSUOLO v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

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AC Milan

·9 February 2024

WOMEN, SASSUOLO v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

Same opponent, different competition. Sassuolo and AC Milan meet again, but this time in the league, after the two-legged Coppa Italia tie that saw the Rossonere come out on top. With only 270 minutes to play in the women's Serie A regular season, the stakes are very high: five points separate the two teams in the table, in a four-way fight for fifth place, which gives access to the Championship Round. The game in Emilia is a big head-to-head showdown, which we will analyse in our Match Preview.

LATEST FROM PUMA HOUSE OF FOOTBALL The positive performance in the Coppa Italia has brought morale back high to the Rossonere. The wish, now, is to keep all possibilities open in terms of reaching the Championship Round, and also making the most of difficult tests for Sampdoria and Como Women, who play at Fiorentina and Juventus, respectively. To do so, however, three points are needed. A league win would allow Corti's team to reap the rewards of the good work seen in recent weeks and, in particular, in the two-legged cup game. The rotation of players to the starting eleven recently may also be seen again for the game at the Ricci Stadium, taking into account that captain Bergamaschi is just one booking away from a suspension and there's a midweek match on Wednesday 14 away to Sampdoria.

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The Rossonere squad: Babb, Giuliani, Tornaghi; Bergamaschi, Fusetti, Guagni, Mesjasz, Piga; Cesarini, Dubcová, Grimshaw, Mascarello, Rubio Ávila, Soffia, Vigilucci; Arrigoni, Dompig, Ijeh, Laurent, Marinelli, Nadim, Stašková.

"In the two Coppa Italia matches, we became more aware of our capabilities and certainly showed more determination in terms of mental approach", said Coach Corti said on the eve of the match. "The league, however, is another type of challenge, the recent cup matches will not be relevant to this game. In recent weeks, Sassuolo have done well in Serie A and for us it would be massive to get a result".

LATEST FROM SASSUOLO Elimination from the cup must not be deceiving: Sassuolo's current league form is excellent, having earned twelve points, out of 20 in total in this Serie A campaign, from their last five matches, winning four and being defeated narrowly by Juventus at home. In that time, Piovani's side have kept four clean sheets, a feat they had only achieved twice up until mid-December. Midweek, at the PUMA House of Football, the Neroverdi lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, different from the 4-3-1-2 seen in recent home matches, and overall they are a team with a good attacking presence, with quality forward players such as Clelland and Sabatino supported by emerging talents Kullashi and Beccari (absent in the last two games). Sassuolo will also have to be careful with their captain, central defender Filangeri, being just one booking away from a suspension.

"The match is really important, and we want to do well," said Coach Piovani ahead of the game. "AC Milan are undoubtedly a strong side, so we'll need to keep our concentration levels high and aim for a perfect performance. Facing such a high-quality side could lead to difficulties, so we'll have to play as best we can."

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

This will be the 11th meeting between the two sides in the Women's Serie A: the Rossonere lead with fives wins to Sassuolo's one, with four matches ending in a draw. AC Milan have kept the back door shut on five previous occasions, just as they did in the two recent Coppa Italia matches, but have only managed three so far this season (all away from home).
The Rossonere, together with Roma, have scored the most in the opening 15 minutes of play in this season's Serie A: five goals, including one last time out and one in the first leg against Sassuolo, by Valentina Bergamaschi.
A former player in the game is Kamila Dubcová, who scored her first hat-trick for the Rossonere the last time they played at the Ricci. Against Fiorentina, the Czech midfielder scored her 20th goal in Serie A, with 18 of these coming for the Neroverdi: since 2019/20, only three midfielders have scored more than AC Milan's number 10 in the women's Serie A.
Andrea Stašková has been involved in the most number of league goals for the Rossonere this season (six, including five goals) and has made the most shots on target. The Czech striker is in excellent form, with five goals (also counting the Coppa Italia) scored in 2024, including the last one scored away from home by the Rossonere in the league, against Juventus.

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV In Italy, Sassuolo v AC Milan will be broadcast live on DAZN at 18:00 CET. Don't miss coverage on acmilan.com, the Rossonere's official social media channels and on the AC Milan Official App where, the day after, the full game will be available.

LATEST FROM WOMEN'S SERIE A Eugenio Scarpa will referee the game at the Stadio Ricci. His assistants will be El Filali and Decorato, with fourth official duties given to Puntel.

Sassuolo v AC Milan is one of two games to kick off matchday 16 in the eBay Women's Serie A: before the game between the Neroverdi and Rossonere at 18:00, Napoli v Roma will take place at 15:00. There are three games scheduled on Sunday 11 February: Pomigliano v Inter at 12:00, Fiorentina v Sampdoria at 15:15 and Juventus v Como Women at 18:00. All kick-off times are CET.

Standings: Roma 42; Juventus 34; Fiorentina 33; Inter 23; Sassuolo 20; Como Women and Sampdoria 18; AC Milan 15; Pomigliano 6; Napoli 3.

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