Milan vs Carpi: Match Preview, Team News & How To Watch

Having won his first game in charge, narrowly beating Sampdoria 1-0 over the weekend, Cristian Brocchi will now be looking to build on this with a victory over Carpi at the San Siro on Thursday night. Milan were less than convincing at the Marassi, and despite the change in manager, it was difficult to see any improvement over how Milan played under Mihajlovic. Nonetheless, it is results that will determine the success of this last month, and Milan desperately need to get them.

Milan's hold on sixth place has looked increasingly tenuous these past few weeks, but a win against Carpi would go a long way towards securing a positive finish to the campaign. There were still some positives to take from Milan's performance, with Carlos Bacca getting on the score sheet, not to mention much stronger showings from Giacomo Bonaventura and Mario Balotelli. A few more run outs could see the team begin to find its rhythm and hopefully put together a run of good results.

It won't be a walk in the park, however. Carpi come into this match with three wins in their last five games, including a 4-1 trouncing of Genoa. When Milan last faced Carpi in December, the match ended 0-0 and the Rossoneri were arguably outplayed by a spirited Biancorossi team. With survival a very real possibility, Carpi will be looking for a result here as well. The fans should hope that a new and improved, more attack-minded Milan side might not find it such an ordeal to beat them this time around.

Milan will once again line up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, although Juraj Kucka will be absent due to suspension. Brocchi is expected to replace him Andrea Poli, whereas Bonaventura is expected to drop deeper and play alongside Poli and Montolivo. Kevin Prince-Boateng could start as the trequartista in place of Bonaventura, as he often did during his first stint at the club. Given the lowly stature of the opposition, it wouldn't hurt for Brocchi to hand a debut to one or two youngsters, but Milanisti shouldn't hold their breath. Either way,a strong performance will be expected.

Predicted Line-Ups

Milan: 4-3-1-2 - Gianluigi Donnarumma; Ignazio Abate, Alex, Alessio Romagnoli, Luca Antonelli; Andrea Poli, Riccardo Montolivo, Giacomo Bonaventura; Kevin prince-Boateng; Carlos Bacca, Mario Balotelli.

Carpi: 4-4-1-1 - Vid Belec; Fabrizio Poli, Emanuele Suagher, Simone Romagnoli, Gaetano Letizia; Lorenzo Pasciuti, Isaac Cofie, Raffaele Bianco, Antonio Di Gaudio; Lorenzo Lollo; Jerry Mbakogu.

How To Watch

Where: San Siro, Milan.

When: 8.45pm local, 15.45pm EST, 21st April 2016.

TV: SKY Calcio 1 (Italy), BT Sport Europe (UK)

Online: SKY Go Italia (Italy), BT Sport (UK), beIN Sports Connect (USA)

International listings can be viewed here.

Score Prediction

Milan are the favourites and winning is the minimum requirement.

Milan 2-0 Carpi