AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli believes now is the time for his players to show their strengths heading into the defining period of the campaign, starting with an all-Italian Europa League quarter-final against Roma.

The Rossoneri are on a run of seven straight wins in all competitions and sit second in Serie A, six points clear of Juventus.

However, with hopes of the Scudetto all but over given the healthy lead of rivals Inter at the top of the table, Pioli knows all of that hard work will count for nothing if his squad do not last the distance in Europe.

“We are in a good moment, but now comes the most important moment of the season which will decide the balance of our season, what we have done, our positive or negative path,” Pioli told a press conference.

“This is the moment which we must demonstrate our strength, demonstrate that the journey we have had through ups and downs has improved us. It depends on us.”

Pioli added: “We have to play the whole match with attention, quality, intensity and maximum minute by minute.

“We want to win, we will try. For me we are not that far from the level of the best in Europe – we play modern football and we are competitive”

Milan will be without defender Fikayo Tomori through suspension, but Simon Kjaer and Malick Thiaw have returned to training with the rest of the squad.

Roma head to San Siro on the back of a derby win over city rivals Lazio, which left them fifth in the table and three points behind Bologna in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Milan have beaten Roma in both of their Serie A fixtures this season.

The 3-1 defeat at San Siro in January saw Roma part ways with manager Jose Mourinho and install former player Daniele De Rossi until the end of the season.

Pioli is expecting a stern test from the Giallorossi, who knocked out English side Brighton to reach the last eight.

“I think De Rossi is doing an excellent job,” the Milan boss said.

“It wasn’t easy to overcome a team that defended with many players when Mourinho was there, probably tomorrow we will find a different opponent with different characteristics.

“We know what Roma are about and their important players, but we don’t know what we will face tomorrow.

“However, we are prepared and mature enough to be able to read what they concede to us and then also make the most of our own skillsets.”

AC Milan will be without Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori for the Europa League visit to Rennes.

The Rossoneri put one foot in the last 16 with a 3-0 win over the French side in last week’s first leg.

Both players are on the way back from long-term injuries but are not ready for Thursday’s match, though might make the weekend clash with Atalanta.

Boss Stefano Pioli said on Milan TV: “It’s clear that Kalulu and Tomori haven’t trained with us for a long time, so getting them back will be very important.

“They won’t be available for tomorrow night, if anything we’ll see for Sunday. It’s clear that we were happy to have some important players back in the group.”

Piolo stressed that the tie is not over, despite Milan’s dominance in the first leg.

“We approach it with great concentration, great desire to pass this round,” he said.

“It is clear that we took a good lead in the first game but it is equally true that we cannot consider it over.

“We are playing against a team that, despite changing five or six players, won in the league match.

“We know each other well, both us and them. That can be an advantage but we can also expect different things because they will try to come back.

“We are just focused on what we have to do to get through the round.

“Their verticality, their speed for sure and also their positions, in the first leg they tried to put us in trouble with different positions than we thought.

“We can also expect something different tomorrow night. It’s a fast team, it’s a quality team that absolutely will not raise the white flag easily.

“We will have to be good at reading the game with great attention, with great conviction, managing well and trying to hit the opponents.”

Luka Jovic opened his AC Milan account as the Rossoneri eased past Frosinone 3-1 at the San Siro.

Christian Pulisic also scored a superb individual effort and Fikayo Tomori put the seal on a comfortable victory before Marco Brescianini’s late consolation for the visitors.

Just one win in five Serie A matches had seen Milan drop off the title pace and Stefano Pioli’s side knew there was no room for error following Juventus’ last-gasp win at Monza on Friday.

Milan were without the likes of Malick Thiaw, Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud, and full-back Theo Hernandez lined up in the middle of a badly depleted home defence.

A largely uninspiring first half was lit up by Jovic lashing home a superb left-footed volley two minutes before the break.

It was the Serbia striker’s first goal in 10 appearances since joining Milan from Fiorentina in September.

Frosinone, beaten 2-0 at the San Siro by Inter last month, started brightly but Milan had the first opportunity when Yunus Musah’s centre took a wicked deflection and Stefano Turati had to react sharply at his near post.

Milan slowly built up a head of steam and Alessandro Florenzi fired wide, while Samuel Chukwueze’s powerful drive was deflected to safety.

Frosinone full-back Anthony Oyono broke forward but his 25-yard effort went wide as his wait for a first senior goal continued.

The visitors should have taken the lead three minutes before the break after Marvin Cuni dispossessed Tomori.

Cuni had a clear run on goal but the Albania striker lacked conviction and Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan stood tall to save.

Frosinone were punished for their profligacy within 60 seconds as Simone Romagnoli’s poor pass was picked off by Pulisic, who spotted the unmarked Ruben Loftus-Cheek to his right.

Loftus-Cheek found Chukwueze quickly and, although Romagnoli got his head on the cross, Jovic was waiting to volley in from eight yards.

Milan doubled their lead five minutes after the interval in route-one style.

Maignan’s long punt was brilliantly brought down by Pulisic, who cut across three defenders to present himself with a shooting opportunity.

Turati rushed out to narrow the angle but the American showed great composure to lift the ball over him for his fifth goal of the season.

Tomori added a third after 74 minutes from a well-worked corner routine, the England defender latching on to Jovic’s far-post header to force home his second goal of the season from close range.

Frosinone gained some reward for their determination to keep going eight minutes from time.

Brescianini’s wide free-kick escaped everyone in a crowded penalty area and surprised Maignan, who had no chance of preserving his clean sheet.

Fikayo Tomori is hoping England’s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers will present the “perfect opportunity” to spring a “stop-start” international career into life.

The 25-year-old AC Milan defender made his senior England debut in 2019 but has collected just four caps since, although he is yet to be part of a back line that has conceded a goal.

Now, for the first time, the former Chelsea youngster has been called up by Gareth Southgate for three successive squads.

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Harry Maguire and John Stones continue to be Southgate’s first-choice partnership at the heart of his defence but the latter will sit out the upcoming double-header against Malta and North Macedonia through injury.

That could open the door for Tomori, as well as Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi, to stake a claim for a more prominent role for England, especially with qualification for next summer’s Euros already achieved.

Asked how big the two upcoming games are for his own Euros chances, Tomori told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Very important. Obviously, the guys have gone through this kind of qualifying campaign really well and they managed to get us qualified early.

“So I think now that we have two games when we’ve already qualified, I think it’s a good chance for the players who probably haven’t played as much or who want to make a claim for the Euros.

“I think it’s the perfect opportunity. The last camp I managed to get a match, my first game at Wembley, which was nice. That’s a positive step in the right direction for me and hopefully this camp I can make another step and play in a qualifying game.

“Obviously John and Harry are really top players and they have been for him (Southgate) for a number of years.

“So, for me, I’m coming in and I’m just trying to push them as much as I can, show the manager what I can do.”

Tomori’s first steps on the international scene came with Canada – the country of his birth – when he represented their under-20s before switching his footballing allegiances to England.

After coming up through the ranks, he made his senior debut as a late substitute in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Kosovo.

He has since been capped once in 2021, 2022 and 2023 despite winning Serie A with AC Milan two seasons ago.

“I think it’s been a bit stop-start,” Tomori said of his England career to date.

“I think when I was 21 and I first got called up I made a few appearances off the bench… then after the Covid year I wasn’t paying as much, so obviously I wasn’t getting called up.

“Then I went to Milan and I’ve been in a few camps, out a few camps. But this season started off really well and I’ve have managed to play a few games and I’ve come to every camp.

“So yeah, it has started off well and now I just want to keep it going and play more games, get more caps.

“Most players will say once you come here, you want to stay here and when you get taste for it, you want to you want to keep building on it.

“Like I said, this season, I started off really well and this is my third successive camp. So I’m really, really happy with how things are going and I think now it’s just about staying consistent, trying to get into the next camp and the next camp and the next camp.”

John Stones’ injury has given England manager Gareth Southgate the chance to explore his centre-back options in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.

The City defender was forced off with a problem in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Young Boys with boss Pep Guardiola admitting it is “deep bad news”.

Stones only returned to action in October after a two-month absence with hamstring and hip problems but Southgate had no hesitation in starting him in the important qualifying win over Italy.

But with qualification for the summer’s tournament in Germany already secured, Southgate – who names his squad on Thursday – can afford to look at his back-up options.

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori started together in last month’s friendly win over Australia but Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi was the man Southgate opted to replace Stones for the final 27 minutes against Italy and has the most caps of the trio.

Injuries to Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw meant Kieran Trippier filled in at left-back against Italy but Chelsea’s Levi Colwill started against Australia and could be another one to benefit from any experimentation.

Colwill’s club captain Reece James could be in for a recall having returned from injury while Chelsea team-mate Raheem Sterling will be hoping two goals and some improved form in his last five matches will earn him a call-up for the first time since the World Cup.

Those chances could be enhanced depending on the extent of the ankle injury sustained by James Maddison during Tottenham’s loss to Chelsea on Monday and how significant the hamstring problem which forced off Callum Wilson in Newcastle’s Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

But Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka should return after withdrawing from the squad in October.

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips’ 49 minutes of action since his international start against Italy is unlikely to count against him, but James Ward-Prowse is knocking on the door of a first call-up in 14 months after a number of good performances for West Ham.