After a tough start to the season, Milan has been in superb form of late. A three-match winning streak has the Rossoneri sitting in fifth place, five points away from first place, and just four points away from a Champions League place.
Six rounds remain before Christmas break—which serves as the unofficial halfway point in the Serie A season—comes along, and Milan has a golden opportunity to catapult up the table.
Before the break, Milan will play Atalanta, Juventus, Sampdoria, Carpi, Verona and Frosinone. Based on the standings through 11 rounds, Milan will be playing teams positioned in eighth, 10th, ninth, 20th, 19th and 17th in the table. The Juventus game aside, Milan should be the favourites in all those matches, and with 18 points on the line, the Rossoneri should be targeting at least 13 points.
Milan has had a hard time putting away teams lower in the table this season. Milan lost 1-0 to Genoa earlier in the season, and has recorded victories against Udinese, Palermo, Chievo and Empoli, but all of those wins were only by one goal.
This season, Milan has done a great job at beating the teams it is supposed to beat. Milan has lost to Genoa, Fiorentina, Inter and Napoli this season. Other than the Genoa loss, Milan was not expected to come away with the full three points in any of those games. If a team like Milan is not stealing points against teams it may not be favored against, then it absolutely has to pick up wins against teams that it is expected to beat. That is exactly the position Milan is in.
There have been no easy games for Milan this season, and the Rossoneri certainly cannot overlook these struggling sides, but the fact remains Milan has a real opportunity to go on a run before the Christmas break and take some momentum into the new year. If Milan is able to end the year sitting somewhere in the range of 32 to 35 points from 17 matches, they could position themselves nicely for a top-three finish.