AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli admitted his side must get their Serie A title challenge back on track with victory in Saturday’s home game against Frosinone.
Just one win in their previous five league matches has seen Milan slip six points behind leaders Inter and four behind second-placed Juventus.
A home Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund in midweek left Milan bottom of their group and while they can still qualify for the knockout stages with one game to play, the pressure is mounting on Pioli.
The 58-year-old former Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina head coach told a press conference: “Frosinone are doing very well and have confidence, (Eusebio) Di Francesco is doing a great job.
“They are aggressive, but we know how to cause them problems. We want to win, and we need to. We need points, the league campaign is long.
“As usual, we’ll need to show concentration, determination and quality. We need to show we are still competitive and put in a good performance.”
Milan beat Pioli’s former club Fiorentina 1-0 at the San Siro last week to halt a domestic league run of two draws and two defeats and a slump in form has coincided with a lengthy injury list.
Pioli was without half a dozen key players for Tuesday night’s loss to Dortmund and saw defender Malick Thiaw forced off early in the second half.
Thiaw will not feature against Frosinone and Olivier Giroud is still suspended, while Rafael Leao, Noah Okafor, Pierre Kalulu, Simon Kjaer, Marco Pellegrino and Mattia Caldara are unlikely to feature.
Pioli added: “There are still 25 league games to play. I told the players not to come in on Thursday to Milanello if they didn’t believe we could reach Inter and Juventus.”
Frosinone boss Di Francesco has injury concerns of his own as his 10th-placed side bid to halt their poor away form, with Luca Mazzitelli, Riccardo Marchizza, Pol Lirola, Francesco Gelli and Marco Brescianini all doubtful.
Frosinone’s impressive start to the season after promotion has been built on five wins and a draw in seven home league matches, but they are winless on the road.
Di Francesco told a press conference: “We need to get this obstacle out of our heads. We made the last point (on the road) in Salerno (in September).
“We need to try to approach the away match with the right attitude. Here at home, however, we feel stronger when going to face our opponents. This way of thinking certainly needs to be changed.”
Napoli not going to San Siro to 'wave the white flag', says Conte
Antonio Conte has no intention of holding anything back when he returns to San Siro, as the top two face off in Serie A on Sunday.
The Italian revived Inter and helped them break Juventus's nine-year stranglehold on the Scudetto, stopping their run in the 2020-21 season to win the title for the first time since their treble-winning campaign in 2009-10.
Now at Napoli, a club that is looking to return to the heights of their 2022-23 title win, Conte's side sit top of Serie A with 25 points after 11 games - a point above Inter ahead of their upcoming clash.
"It's definitely nice to return to where I worked and won. Yes, two happy years," Conte told reporters.
"It was a wonderful experience that I carry within me, like all the past ones that I lived to the fullest."
Napoli's winning run in Serie A came to a grinding halt against Atalanta last weekend when Conte's side were beaten 3-0, and they have a poor recent record against Inter, having won just one of their last 10 Serie A matches against them.
Napoli are looking to avoid suffering two consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since last December, and Conte says he is in no mood to drop three points again.
"The three points is always important, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team," Conte added.
"We are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag before starting, but convinced to play our cards. Then we will see what happens. We are preparing in a major way, as we always do.
"It will be an important test, we will measure ourselves against the best, and it will be important to understand our progress. Do not forget that we arrive at the top of the table... and the objective is to remain at the top."
Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku has scored only one goal in his last four games, but when asked about his form, Conte said he was tired of questions about the Belgian striker.
"At every blessed conference, there is always the question about Lukaku. It becomes a bit - not annoying - but we are talking about the team. Lukaku's growth depends on the growth of the team," Conte said.
"But I am confident because I see them every day, they want to work and improve. I see a lot of commitment and I would not reduce it to a single player. It is not fair to the others."
Guardiola confident Man City can avoid fourth straight loss
Pep Guardiola is facing the prospect of losing four consecutive matches for the first time in his career but is confident Manchester City do not need extra reassurance.
All three of City's recent losses have come in different competitions, first falling to Tottenham in the EFL Cup round of 16 before following it up with defeats to Bournemouth in the Premier League and Sporting CP in the Champions League.
It is the first time the Citizens have been on such a run since doing so between May and August 2021, while in the same season, it is the first time since April 2018.
In the Premier League, Guardiola's men were on a 32-match unbeaten run before their defeat to Bournemouth, and they have only lost two consecutive top-flight matches three times under the Spaniard before.
The Spaniard has been vocal about his team's recent injury struggles, and will once again be without Jack Grealish, despite his recent England call-up, John Stones and Ruben Dias for the trip to Brighton on Saturday.
Bernardo Silva said the team were in a "dark place" after their game at Sporting on Tuesday, but Guardiola does not believe he needs to provide any extra motivation to help get his players back to winning ways.
"I don't think [the players need extra reassurance]. Of course, we are not used to losing three games in three different competitions, but it is football, and it has happened," Guardiola said.
"We know the reason why we struggle, but we are looking forward to this game and after the international break, and after that a few players will be back and recovered. All the little problems we have with players will be solved. I hope.
"There always is a first time [to lose four straight]. Hopefully, it is not the case.
"Twenty minutes against Fulham we were not good, against Bournemouth we were not good, but the rest of the games we were good. We are good. We will see what happens."
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's record-breaking hat-trick powers Manchester City to 4-0 victory Over Tottenham Hotspur Women
Reggae Girl Khadija "Bunny" Shaw delivered a historic performance on Friday, scoring a hat-trick that led Manchester City Women to a dominant 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur Women in the Barclays Women's Super League (WSL). Shaw's incredible feat helped City extend their lead at the top of the table, reaching 19 points, four clear of Chelsea, who have played two games fewer.
Shaw, who has now scored seven goals in the league this season, wasted no time asserting her dominance, scoring just moments after kick-off. Bursting through on goal, she slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving City an immediate 1-0 lead. In the 15th minute, Shaw struck again, towering over defenders to head home a looping cross from Lauren Hemp. Tottenham’s goalkeeper and fellow Jamaican, Rebecca Spencer, got a hand to it, but Shaw's powerful header proved unstoppable.
City continued to apply pressure, and in the 66th minute, Jill Roord added to the scoreline. After evading a challenge, Hemp found Roord in the box, who shifted the ball onto her left foot and fired it into the roof of the net, making it 3-0. Just a minute later, Shaw completed her hat-trick. Hemp, instrumental throughout, drove down the byline and delivered a precise cross into the box, where Shaw was perfectly positioned to knock it home.
Shaw's hat-trick set new records in the WSL. She became the first player to record three hat-tricks against the same team and broke her teammate Vivianne Miedema’s record with her sixth career hat-trick in the league.
Facing her fellow Reggae Girlz teammates Drew Spence and Rebecca Spencer, Shaw showed why she is one of the most prolific strikers in the league, continuing to propel Manchester City to the top of the WSL standings with her record-breaking performance.
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