AC Milan will look to continue our excellent start to the Serie A campaign when we face city rivals Inter on Sunday night.
The Rossoneri have won 10 of 11 games in the league thus far, leaving us joint-top of the standings with Napoli and seven points ahead of the Nerazzurri ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
READ MORE: Why Milan’s difficult Champions League campaign is crucial learning curve
With the international break upon us, it’s hoped that we can sign off in style to end what has been a brilliant start to the year, but it will no doubt be a difficult challenge given the quality of the opposition.
Theo Hernandez suspended, Ibrahimovic to come back in?
Milan must make do without Theo Hernandez after his red card last time out, and so the expectation is that Fode Ballo-Toure will come in for him at left-back.
The 24-year-old has shown improvement in recent outings after question marks were initially raised over his ability to step in, and so Pioli could choose to show faith in him. That said, starting Pierre Kalulu at right-back and shifting Davide Calabria over to the left could also be an option but takes something away from the balance of the XI.
Simon Kjaer is likely to come back into the starting XI after being rested in midweek, while Sandro Tonali could be partnered by Franck Kessie instead of Ismael Bennacer as Milan look to impose themselves on the game physically and get a foothold in midfield.
Further up the field it’s hoped that Milan get an improved performance from Brahim Diaz in the No.10 role as he struggled last time out having returned from his stint out due to COVID. We’ll certainly need his creativity and craft in the final third to pick holes in the Inter defence, something that Rade Krunic will likely struggle to do if he gets the nod in his place.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also potentially return up front to replace Olivier Giroud, and given what he offers to our build-up play and as a direct threat in spearheading the attack, the Swede will relish the big-game atmosphere and the opportunity to showcase his class once again.
He’ll be flanked by Rafael Leao and Alexis Saelemaekers who will provide pace, width and work ethic, and so it’s hoped that Milan get the balance right to not only put in a solid defensive shift, but to also cause Inter plenty of problems with our attacking quality.
