Alessandria need to overcome a 1-0 deficit at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza if they are to progress past AC Milan to the Coppa Italia final on Tuesday evening. The victors will play either Juventus or Inter, who face one another at the same stadium a day later.
The Lega pro side lost a narrow first leg to a Mario Balotelli penalty just before half time, but gave a good enough account of themselves to suggest there is nothing to fear from the second leg.
The Rossoneri are beaten since that game, having won four and drawn two of their Serie A games in the interim. This is the 27th time Milan have reached this stage and with tickets having been on sale from €5, there should be a sizeable turnout for what can sometimes be a poorly attended fixture.
In contract, Alessandria have won just a single match since the first leg. Their 3-1 victory at Albinoleffe not enough to have prevented Angelo Gregucci’s side falling to fifth place in the Lega Pro division, one spot outside the possible promotion places.
This will be the 28th meeting between the two sides, and just the second in the Coppa Italia. The bulk of those contests came before the Grigi’s relegation from Serie A in 1960 and both sides won nine of the 26 top flight encounters between the two.
It is the 1-0 carried over from first leg that will have greater import on this match, though, as Milan look to reach a first final since 2003, and Alessandria since 1936.
There are no new injury doubts for Rossoneri boss Sinisa Mihajlovic, meaning that the Serb can call on a familiar squad; Diego Lopez, M’Baye Niang, Alex and Philippe Mexes will all be missing with long term injuries.
Alessio Romagnoli trained on his own on Sunday after the victory over Torino, but is expected to be fit, his absence would mean a defensive re-organisation. Jeremy Menez, who has not started a Serie A game all season, is in contention.
Riccardo Bocalon, who scored the goals to help the Orso reach this stage, should be available for selection, though he has been a substitute in recent rounds.
Form Guide: AC Milan (W-D-W-D-W) Alessandria (D-L-W-D-L)
Expected Starting XIs
AC Milan: Abbiati; Antonelli, Romagnoli, Zapata, De Sciglio; Menez, Mauri, Poli, Honda; Balotelli, Luis Adriano
Alessandria: Vanucci; Sabato, Sirri, Morero, Sosa; Loviso; Fischnaller, Branca, Nicco, Marroas; Bocalon.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com