After years of struggle and an abysmal start to their Serie A season, AC Milan are suddenly right on the edge of the title chase. They’re in fifth place in the league and just five points out of first place, with an opportunity to catch up to the four teams that have been brawling for first place over the last few weeks. Atalanta aren’t far behind Milan right now -- they’re only two points back in eighth place -- but all the momentum belongs to the rossonero right now.
AC Milan vs. Atalanta 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch Serie A online
Milan are riding high on a three-match winning streak. Can they topple Atalanta and put themselves in the Serie A title hunt?
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Of course, while a win for Atalanta at the San Siro would be considered an upset, it would conform to a recent pattern in Atalanta’s form. Their last six matches have followed a win-loss trade-off pattern, and seeing as they lost to Bologna last weekend, a win would see that pattern carry on.
The only catch: their wins all came at home, and this match with Milan represents their second straight road match. Atalanta have only one win and one draw on the road in Serie A this season, where the San Siro has only seen Milan lose once this season -- and that was to Inter, who are even with Fiorentina on points atop the table.
There’s really no way to easily predict this match. Both Milan and Atalanta are good but imperfect. On their night, either team has the capability to beat anyone in Serie A.
Key player -- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan)
Donnarumma was recently anointed as Milan’s starting goalkeeper after Diego Lopez struggled, and his place in goal was further secured by Lopez being sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury. Now, that seems fairly normal -- a backup overcoming a struggling starter isn’t very strange -- right up until you notice that Donnarumma is only 16 years old. Now, he’s performed very well since stepping into goal, but he’s 16. You can’t expect him to be consistently good at this point in his career. If he loses his focus or his concentration at all, Milan could be in for a world of hurt.
Key matchup -- Carlos Bacca (Milan) vs. Gabriel Paletta (Atalanta)
Paletta has been a decent-to-good defender throughout his career, but a rough half-season at Milan hurt his stock significantly last year. He’s been slowly working his way back with Atalanta this season, helping his loan club build one of Italy’s better defensive records 11 matches into this campaign. But unless he’s playing at his absolute best, Paletta is not well-suited to match up with Bacca one-on-one -- but no one else in Atalanta’s defense is any better for that job. If Paletta can reach that extra gear and keep Bacca in check, it will make life much easier for his teammates. However, if Bacca gets the better of him, Atalanta are in for a bad day.
AC Milan injuries and suspensions
Out: Mario Balotelli, Diego Lopez, Andrea Bertolacci, Jeremy Menez In doubt: Philippe Mexes, Riccardo Montolivo, Alex, Giacomo Bonaventura, Ignazio Abate
Atalanta injuries and suspensions
In doubt: Boukary Drame, Marcelo Estigarribia
Atalanta are fairly healthy, but Milan are still badly battered, with hurt bodies in every phase of the game. They have the depth to deal with their injuries for now, but if they get worse at all, they could be in for a world of hurt.
Match date/time: Sat., 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: San Siro, Milan, Italy
TV: beIN Sports (US & Canada), Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.), RAI International
Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (US & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
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