Milan kickstart their 2024 with a trip away to a struggling Empoli, looking to keep pace with the league leaders.
The match between the Tuscan side and the Rossoneri kicks off at 11.30 UK time at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in Empoli.
Empoli have failed to replicate the positivity shown last term and currently find themselves in a difficult spot entering 2024, sitting 19th in the table with 13 points, two behind 17th place Cagliari.
The Azzurri cannot count on the injured Simone Bastoni, Viktor Kovalenko, Bartosz Bersezynski, Jacopo Fazzini, Giuseppe Pezzella and Gabriele Guarino. Liberato Cacace is unavailable through suspension.
Milan have started to generate a little more consistency after their recent drop in form and sit third in the Serie A table. Inter’s win over Hellas Verona on Saturday means the Rossoneri are now 12 points behind their intercity rivals, so they cannot afford to drop points in Tuscany.
Stefano Pioli’s side are in the midst of an injury crisis and are without Marco Sportiello, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Tommaso Pobega and Noah Okafor.
When these two teams met last season, Milan secured a 3-1 win away but were held by Empoli to a 0-0 draw at home.
Probable line-ups for Empoli vs Milan
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Caprile; Ebuehi, Walukiewicz, Luperto, Ismajli; Fazzini, Grassi, Maleh; Baldanzi; Cambiaghi, Caputo.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Theo Hernandez, Florenzi; Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud.