Milan start 2018 in the bottom half of the table and that makes beating Walter Zenga’s Crotone an absolute necessity.
It kicks off at 14.00 GMT, follow the build-up and action from all eight Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.
The Rossoneri have barely improved since Gennaro Gattuso replaced Vincenzo Montella, who has already found a new job at Sevilla.
Milan start 2018 in the bottom half of the table and that makes beating Walter Zenga’s Crotone an absolute necessity.
It kicks off at 14.00 GMT, follow the build-up and action from all eight Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.
The Rossoneri have barely improved since Gennaro Gattuso replaced Vincenzo Montella, who has already found a new job at Sevilla.
They had the high point of beating Inter in the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final, a Patrick Cutrone goal decisive in extra time, but were fortunate to grab a draw against Fiorentina in their final game of the year.
Ignazio Abate was added to the injury list with Marco Storari, Jose Mauri, Gabriel Paletta and Andrea Conti, but Nikola Kalinic is back on the bench after recovering from his badly bruised ankle.
Cutrone turned 20 this week and he again leads the line, preferred to big summer signing Andre Silva, with Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu in the trident attack.
Lucas Biglia gets a rare start in place of Riccardo Montolivo in midfield.
Crotone are now under Coach Zenga, who is no stranger to San Siro, having been Inter’s goalkeeper for many years.
They’ve lost six of the last seven rounds, save for a 1-0 victory over Chievo, but last time out were only marginally beaten 1-0 by Serie A leaders Napoli.
Andrea Nalini, Daniel Pavlovic, Stefan Simic and Marco Tumminello are on the treatment table, as Ante Budimir and Marcello Trotta provide height in attack.
When these sides met in Week 1, the game never really got going, as Federico Ceccherini was sent off within four minutes of an eventual 3-0 result.
This is a special game for Gattuso and Milan director Massimiliano Mirabelli, as they are both from the Calabria region, where Crotone hail from.
Crotone have never beaten the Rossoneri, managing a single 1-1 draw and three losses between Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
Milan: G Donnarumma; Calabria, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez; Kessie, Biglia, Bonaventura; Suso, Cutrone, Calhanoglu
Milan bench: A Donnarumma, Gabriel, Musacchio, Zapata, Antonelli, Montolivo, Abate, Gomez, Locatelli, Zanellato, Gabbia, Borini, Andre Silva, Kalinic
Crotone: Cordaz; Sampirisi, Ajeti, Ceccherini, Martella; Rohden, Barberis, Mandragora; Trotta, Budimir, Stoian
Crotone bench: Viscovo, Festa, Sampirisi, Crociata, Kragl, Tonev, Izco, Suljic, Aristoteles, Simy
Ref: Maresca