AC Milan will look to get back to winning ways against Genoa on Wednesday night after back-to-back Serie A defeats.
The Rossoneri suffered losses against both Fiorentina and Sassuolo, and in turn it has led to us slipping three points adrift of Napoli at the top of the Serie A standings, while the chasing pack have also made up ground on us.
READ MORE: How back-to-back heavy defeats reveal Tomori importance to Milan
Stefano Pioli will know that it’s important for us to bounce back in midweek to boost confidence and belief once again, but time will tell if we’re able to do so against Andriy Shevchenko’s side.
As per Sky Sport Italia, reported by MilanNews, Pioli is expected to make changes to his line-up and rotate, and so with that comes the danger of key individuals not starting and their replacements needing time to adjust and acclimatise to the pace of the game given their lack of minutes previously.
Leao, Diaz could be rested but Tomori returns
After conceding seven goals in our last two league games without Fikayo Tomori, Milan will receive a major boost this week as the defensive ace is expected to return to the starting XI having recovered from his hip injury.
The 23-year-old’s importance to the side was evident in those losses, and so the aggressiveness, pace and physicality that he brings to the backline will hopefully help us return home with a clean sheet and all three points.
However, as noted by the report above, Pioli may choose this game as an opportunity to rest important players such as Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao, with Messias Junior and Rade Krunic tipped to come in and replace them.
On one hand, that could be considered a risky move given our recent results and the need to get back on track, but perhaps that’s what is needed at this stage to freshen things up and bring new ideas and qualities to the table.
Time will tell if Milan do indeed go with those tweaks, but with Olivier Giroud picking up an injury last time out, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to lead the line again and it’s hoped that he can produce a decisive performance to lead the way.
Sandro Tonali and Franck Kessie could also come back into the starting XI after both Ismael Bennacer and Tiemoue Bakayoko struggled at the weekend, and so it’s a fine balancing act that Pioli has to manage in terms of prioritising the result, but also ensuring that he’s giving his players sufficient rest over a busy period in the fixture list.
Davide Calabria, Samu Castillejo and Ante Rebic join Giroud on the sidelines due to injury, while Alessio Romagnoli is suspended.
Nevertheless, it’s hoped that we have enough quality in the side and on the bench too if needed to secure all three points as another disappointing result here would certainly hurt our hopes of mounting a serious Scudetto challenge this season as further question marks would be raised.
