Shock play-off contesters Sampdoria will host i Rossoneri at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday, and Siniša Mihajlović will hope his side can continue their impressive form which has seen them lose just once all season – against Milan’s historic rivals Inter.

Despite a promising start to Filippo Inzaghi’s managerial tenure, his Milan side have struggled of late, with a three-match winless run forcing the 18-time Serie A winners to slip into seventh.

Meanwhile, i Blucerchiati sit in fourth place, on equal terms with Lazio, and just three and six points behind Roma and Juventus respectively. Having finished 12th last seasons, fans have seen a colossal improvement in performances, who for the team who have clinched the Serie A title just once, back in 1991.

Sampdoria have quickly overlooked to 1-0 defeat to Inter, a former club of the current manager Mihajlović, after a comprehensive 3-1 win over Fiorentina following a dyanmuc switch to 3-5-2 with a magnitude of changes taking place in the final third.

Stefano Okaka ensured he remained in the squad, and praised his manager following the game. Having described the former Sampdoria player as ‘irreplaceable’, he focused on his upcoming opponents, and declared the game was being taken very seriously despite Milan’s recent woes. He said:

"Milan are a great club and a great team. Although they have some difficulties, I am convinced that they come to play a great game.

"So we have to be careful, but we are not afraid. An eight-match unbeaten run cannot just be the result of chance. In fact, we have shown that we can stand up to the big teams."

As home fans hope Okaka can produce a similar performance to recent weeks, Milan will be eager to ensure star player Keisuke Honda features – with six goals to his name already this season. When asked about the challenge ahead, the Japanese midfielder said:

"I think we have to win on Saturday against Sampdoria. We have to show what we're made of, I think we can do it. We've started a new project under Inzaghi, I really like this team and I think we can do it.

"We played well for a lot of games [at the start of the season], but recently we haven't been creating enough chances to win.

"We’re at the beginning of a new project, Saturday wont be easy."

Inzaghi will be without midfielder Riccardo Montolivo and defender Alex through injury, while Sampdoria are weakened by the loss of Angelo Palombo through suspension, and duo Emiliano Viviano and Luka Djordjevic who both face spells on the sidelines.