After reaching the cup semi-finals, AC Milan will aim to boost fading hopes of a top-four finish in Serie A when they meet Empoli on Saturday evening.
Despite securing progress in both the Champions League and Coppa Italia, Milan sit eighth in Italy's top flight, where their hosts are slowly slipping down the standings.
Match preview
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Setting up a last-four clash with either arch-rivals Inter Milan or Lazio, Wednesday's 3-1 win over Roma took Milan through to the Coppa Italia semi-finals, with Tammy Abraham striking twice against his parent club at San Siro.
That victory followed an intense league contest with Inter three days earlier, when the Rossoneri went in search of their third Derby della Madonnina win of the season.
Setting out to stall the Nerazzurri's title charge, Sergio Conceicao's side came within a whisker of repeating January's Supercoppa Italiana success; but after holding onto a slim lead until stoppage time, they then conceded a last-gasp leveller.
Therefore, Milan remain far behind their old foes in the Serie A standings, and they face a fight to salvage European qualification from an inconsistent campaign.
Even though tough taskmaster Conceicao pledged to tighten up a leaky defence, the Lombardy giants have conceded at least one goal in each of their last six league games - after keeping a clean sheet in four of the previous five.
Ahead of a weekend trip to Tuscany, Milan have also lost their last two away matches - against Juventus and Dinamo Zagreb - so nothing other than three points will satisfy an increasingly frustrated fanbase.
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Following a 3-0 defeat in November's reverse fixture, Empoli have failed to even find the net in any of their last four meetings with this week's visitors - they have also lost seven of the last eight.
In fact, the Tuscan club have yet to record a single top-flight win over Milan at Stadio Castellani, coming up short on 32 previous occasions.
Recent form does not bode well for Roberto D'Aversa's side either, as they are still winless in 2025, after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Juventus last time out.
Despite taking the lead through ex-Juve man Mattia De Sciglio - before having a penalty awarded and then overturned by the VAR - Empoli conceded twice in a three-minute spell just after the hour mark, shipping two more during stoppage time.
Across the last eight matchdays, the Azzurri have picked up the fewest points - just two - and conceded the most goals (18), leaving them one point above the drop zone and facing another almighty scrap for survival.
At the Castellani, they have posted only one league win all season long - scoring a meagre five goals - so beating Milan represents a particularly tough task.
Team News
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After both made an impact from the bench in midweek, Milan should hand more minutes to new signings Joao Felix - who scored on his debut - and Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez.
During his time at Feyenoord, the latter registered 65 goals in 105 games across all competitions, and he will vie with Tammy Abraham to lead the line, following Alvaro Morata's mid-season departure.
With a Champions League playoff against Gimenez's old club coming up, Sergio Conceicao may consider changes. Another recent arrival - ex-Fiorentina winger Riccardo Sottil - will be available, but injured trio Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Emerson Royal and Alessandro Florenzi are still sidelined.
Meanwhile, Ola Solbakken, Pietro Pellegri, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov and Tyronne Ebuehi all feature on Empoli's perennially long injury list - and three other potential starters are doubtful.
Tino Anjorin, Jacopo Fazzini and Albanian defender Ardian Ismajli all face fitness tests, but centre-back Mattia Viti has resumed training.
Although Alberto Grassi and Giuseppe Pezzella are both back from suspension, Youssef Maleh will now serve a one-match ban after his late red card against Juve.
Set to partner Inter-owned Sebastiano Esposito up front, Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo has scored five goals in 23 Serie A appearances this season, requiring just one more to set a new personal best.
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vasquez; Goglichidze, Viti, De Sciglio; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Cacace, Pezzella; Esposito, Colombo
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Musah, Fofana; Pulisic, Felix, Sottil; Gimenez
We say: Empoli 1-3 AC Milan
Considering just the first half of games, Milan and Empoli would have actually gained the same number of points this season; in the second half, the Rossoneri would have accrued 13 more.
Given their hosts' dismal home record, the visitors should therefore secure maximum points by stepping up their game after half time.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
