Last season, AC Milan were a shining example of overachievers as they raced to Serie A top spot midway through the season. However, they were later overcome by their city rivals Inter. However, Milan’s glorious history and tradition won’t allow them to play second fiddle to anyone in Italy. It’s a part of their culture. Anyway, it’s been too long since their last title. Financial problems and a disjointed boardroom resulted in far too many woes for the former European champions.Now, in 2022, the Rossoneri are just keeping up the chase behind Inter as the only contender to stop their rivals to make it two in a row. And if there is a man who can push the team to exceed expectations this time around – it’s their Swedish maverick, Zlatan.When in Venice 🚤#SempreMilan #VeneziaMilan pic.twitter.com/AsZf4iLRkR— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 8, 2022 Ibrahimovic is pretty much the only Milan player who has a history of winning trophies. But at the age of 40, he simply cannot do it alone. He can no longer run like crazy for 90 minutes nor he can wrestle with entire backlines. What he can do is to use his vast experience to lift the team and point the youngsters in the right direction both on the pitch and off it. That will be his main objective when the Rossoneri run out onto the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo pitch in Venice today.With the Nerazzurri scheduled to play late on Sunday, Stefano Pioli’s side has an excellent chance to take the lead in the title race with a victory in Venice and put pressure on their neighbours and current champions.Meanwhile, Venezia will be playing their first game of 2022 after their previous fixture against Salernitana was suspended. They are without a win in their last six Serie A encounters, although Paolo Zanetti’s team did manage to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw during this run. Nevertheless, they remain 16th in the table, just four points clear of the drop zone and will need to turn things around.📝 DEAL DONE: Michaël Cuisance has completed his permanent move to Venezia on a contract until 2025. Bayern Munich will receive €4.5m guaranteed fee plus add ons.(Source: @VeneziaFC_EN) pic.twitter.com/0P3Frcx16v— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 3, 2022 The reverse fixture played at San Siro ended in a 2-0 win for AC Milan with goals coming from Brahim Diaz and Theo Hernandez. AC Milan have picked up wins in 25 of their last 31 away matches in Serie A, while their hosts from one of the most iconic places in the world have failed to win any of their previous six Serie A games.Coach Pioli knows that a maximum effort will be needed to keep the good run going against Venezia.”We will need a solid and serious performance, we will have to move a lot and keep our width. Venezia are well drilled, fast and technical. The team has a sense of responsibility and unity, they work with desire and passion: our strength is the group.”It’s all set for the first meeting of these two clubs in the Venetian Lagoon after a 20-year wait.SERIE A – Round 21Sunday14.30: (2.65) Empoli (3.50) Sassuolo (2.75)14.30: (6.50) Venezia (3.90) Milan (1.62)18.30: (1.50) Napoli (4.50) Sampdoria (7.25)20.30: (3.30) Roma (3.35) Juventus (2.35)20.30: (2.25) Genoa (3.25) Spezia (3.60)22.45: (1.45) Inter (4.70) Lazio (8.00)22.45: (1.38) Verona (4.90) Salernitana (10.0)Cagliari – Bologna (postponed)Torino – Fiorentina (postponed)Udinese – Atalanta (postponed)***odds are subject to change
