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2022/23 Italian Serie A
Matchday 16
Salernitana v AC Milan
Stadio Arechi
Salerno, Italy
Wednesday, 4 January 2023
Kick-off is at 13h30
AC Milan will resume their title defence in the new year when they travel to the Stadio Arechi for a Serie A clash against Salernitana on Wednesday, January 4.
The Rossoneri have struggled to keep pace with Napoli this season and they headed into the World cup break trailing the league leaders by eight points in second place.
Stefano Pioli's side will be aware that they cannot afford to drop many more points, having already lost two of their opening 15 matches along with three draws.
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Milan beat Fiorentina 2-1 before the seven-week recess to go three games undefeated in the league and remain two points clear of Juventus directly behind them.
Pioli believes the Italian champions will need to improve on last season's points tally to retain their crown given the form of the Partenopei, who remain unbeaten after 15 matches.
"We must think that we can still win the title, absolutely. If Napoli continue like this, they'll earn more than 100 points, so we'll have to congratulate them," he told Sport Mediaset.
"Right now, we should only think about earning many points. Last year we needed 86, this season it could be more. There are still 69 available, it's a lot and we must believe we can make it."
The Granata have improved this term after barely surviving the drop in 2021/22, although November was a disappointing month which ended with a 3-0 loss at Monza.
Davide Nicola's team had a training camp in Turkey during December and played friendlies against Fenerbahce and Alanyaspor, both resulting in defeats.
Nicola declared himself happy with the trip and is convinced it will bear fruit when the campaign resumes in 2023.
"We worked very well here in Turkey, it was a very qualitative training retreat and the guys showed great dedication. We faced two competitive teams experimenting a lot," he said.
"The results of the work are not seen after a day but time is needed. This week we have worked on developing aggression, individual pressure and attacking spaces. When we're full, I'm sure we'll be able to do a good job."
Head-to-Head (Past Serie A Meetings)
Matches - 4
Salernitana - 0
AC Milan - 4
Draws - 1
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