A rebuilt and revitalized AC Milan squad has been one of the hot teams in a Serie A campaign that’s been surprising during the early run of the season. They’ve won three of their five matches, and while they have yet to win two in a row, they’ve also yet to play a truly bad match, and are facing off with a Genoa team that’s been beaten four times this season.
A.C. Milan vs. Genoa 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Can Milan make it two wins in a row, or will Genoa get the upset?
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Sinisa Mihajlovic and his team will be confident heading into this contest, and rightfully so based on results, but they can’t act as though this match is already in the bag. Despite a poor start to the season, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side has plenty of fight left in them, and plenty of talent to throw into that fight. Even in their losses, Genoa have been battling to the last minute in every one of their matches, and are a couple bad breaks away from a much more impressive record than one win and four losses. You cannot count Genoa out of this match, and if Milan back off the throttle at all, they could be in for a rude surprise.
Key player -- Luiz Adriano (Milan)
Even though Mario Balotelli put on a show in Milan’s midweek win against Udinese, he’s not likely to start this match since he doesn’t have the match fitness just to start again on short rest. That puts a lot of pressure on the man he replaced in that match, Adriano, to put on a top-shelf performance of his own, or risk winding up on the short end of Milan’s rotation up front. Of course, Adriano has the skill to put on one heck of a show -- he was easily Milan’s best player in their first two matches -- so Genoa will need to be on high alert whenever the tricky Brazilian is in the final third.
Upset potential -- High
Milan are riding high right now, having just earned their third win of the young Serie A season and charging up the table. Yes, they’re only in seventh right now, but had they won the Milan Derby instead of Inter, a match they played well in, they’d be in a three-way tie for first place in the league right now. That said, Genoa have played solidly despite poor final results, and have the home field advantage against a battered and weary rossoneri side. If Genoa can kick things up a notch, they could easily come away with all three points in this match.
Genoa injuries and suspensions
Out: Issa Cissokho (suspended), Goran Pandev (suspended), Tino Costa (adductor), Serge Gakpe (thigh), Cristian Ansaldi (unspecified), Mattia Perin (shoulder), Ezequiel Munoz (unspecified) In doubt: Leonardo Pavoletti (thigh)
AC Milan injuries and suspensions
Out: Juaj Kucka (ankle), Ignazio Abate (hamstring), Luca Antonelli (knee), Jeremy Menez (back), M’baye Niang (foot) In doubt: Andrea Bertolacci (groin), Philippe Mexes (knee)
Both of these teams are pretty beat up right now, with each missing several key players for this match. Milan especially are still dealing with a crucial lack of depth at fullback and in midfield -- they’ve been limping along so far, but with a run of matches close together, what little depth they have must be getting sorely tested.
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 6:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. local
Venue: Stadio Luidi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. & Canada -- English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. & Canada, Spanish), Sky Supercalcio HD, Sky Calcio 1 (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.)
Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy)
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