Massimiliano Allegri has urged his side to be "technically brilliant" as AC Milan head into their clash with Atalanta in strong form, sitting five points clear of their Lombardy rivals in Serie A and looking to extend their eight-game unbeaten run.

Milan were held to a dramatic 2-2 draw at home by winless Pisa on Friday. Swiss wing-back Zachary Athekame salvaged a point with a stunning 30-yard strike in the 93rd minute, preventing what could have been a damaging loss.

Despite the draw, the Rossoneri's overall consistency keeps them in the hunt at the top, even if Napoli’s subsequent win over Inter saw them drop from first to third place, with Roma also winning.

While Allegri has played down Scudetto talk, claiming Champions League qualification is the predominant focus, Milan will be looking to get back to winning ways here.

"We knew that the schedule until the next break would be filled with difficult and complex matches, but they all are," he told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "We made life difficult for ourselves against Pisa, and we could've done better.

"Atalanta have some great physical and technical qualities, it's always difficult playing in Bergamo. It's a direct clash because we will be up against a team who are fighting for spot in the top four.

"The league is wide open at the moment, we will see who will have the strength to maintain consistency. We will need to be technically brilliant tomorrow to maintain consistency."

Atalanta, meanwhile, remain Italy’s only unbeaten team this season, although they have registered six draws – the most in Serie A. 

Over the weekend, La Dea were held to a 1-1 draw by regional rivals Cremonese, as Marco Brescianini's late strike cancelled out Jamie Vardy's opener at Stadio Zini.

The result extended Atalanta's streak to five consecutive league draws, and seven from their last 11 matches across all competitions.

Scoring remains an issue, with strikers Nikola Krstovic and Gianluca Scamacca failing to find the net again. Since early October, Ivan Juric's side have managed just two goals, despite having Ademola Lookman back in the squad. 

"Milan already have Allegri's stamp on them," Juric said of the Rossoneri. "They're focused, disciplined, balanced, they know how to maximise their players' qualities and limit the opponents."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Atalanta – Marco Brescianini 

Only Scott McTominay (six) has scored more away goals than Brescianini among central midfielders from the beginning of the 2024-25 Serie A campaign (five, level with Hakan Calhanoglu).

The Italian midfielder was on target against Cremonese last time out. 

AC Milan – Rafael Leao

Leao has scored in back-to-back home Serie A matches for the first time since May 2024, after netting against Fiorentina and Pisa.

Prior to this, the Portuguese forward had gone 16 home league games without scoring.

Notably, two of his last three goals in Serie A have come from outside the penalty area; equalling the number of long-range goals he scored in his previous 28 top-flight strikes.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Milan have drawn two of their last three Serie A matches (won one), matching the number of draws they had in their previous 25 league games (won 18, lost five).

The Rossoneri have avoided defeat in their last seven league outings, with five wins and two draws, and have extended their unbeaten streak to eight games in all competitions, including a Coppa Italia victory over Lecce.

Atalanta, meanwhile, have recorded four consecutive draws in Serie A for the first time since between April and May 2015, when Edoardo Reja was in charge.

Remarkably, the Bergamo side are one of only three teams still unbeaten in the current season across the Big Five European leagues, alongside Bayern Munich and Monaco.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Atalanta - 37.2%

Draw - 27.1%

AC Milan - 35.6%