AC Milan face Fiorentina on Saturday night hoping to continue our impressive start to the Serie A campaign.
The Rossoneri sit in second place in the standings ahead of the game, level on points with leaders Napoli, while we also have a seven-point cushion over Inter in third.
READ MORE: AC Milan team news: Romagnoli, Castillejo and Calabria updates vs Fiorentina
As we look to mount a serious Scudetto challenge this season, it’s hoped that the ruthless and relentless streak that we started to build prior to the international break continues in Florence as there is an obvious risk that the gap between fixtures could break our rhythm and form.
Tomori, Calabria out, Ibrahimovic to start?
As per MilanNews, Stefano Pioli was dealt a blow on Saturday morning as it was confirmed that Fikayo Tomori would be forced to miss out after picking up a hip injury in training this week, and so he isn’t included in the matchday squad.
In turn, that should see Simon Kjaer partner Alessio Romagnoli in the heart of the defence, while with Davide Calabria also ruled out after sustaining a knock during the international break, Pierre Kalulu is likely to start at right-back in a reshuffled backline.
It’s hoped that the work done on our structure and organisation in training allows for changes to be seamless across the pitch, but time will tell whether or not that becomes an issue.
Elsewhere, Sandro Tonali is tipped to get the nod in midfield ahead of Ismael Bennacer, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport’s graphic below, while they also believe that Rafael Leao will keep his place despite Ante Rebic knocking on the door for a return after recovering from an injury of his own.
In perhaps the only other 50/50 call in the Milan starting XI, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is potentially set to get a start ahead of Olivier Giroud, but time will tell ahead of kick-off what Pioli goes with as we look for our 11th win in 13 games so far this season. Ibrahimovic’s ability to produce something special and a moment of class could be crucial in a tough game away from home such as this one, and so it could arguably be the right choice.
What is clear at this stage though is that Milan have strength in depth this season to deal with absentees, but it’s up to both Pioli and his players to ensure that regardless of any changes or rotation, we continue to be a well-oiled winning machine in our pursuit of silverware this year.
