AC Milan face Inter in a crucial Serie A clash on Saturday evening with Stefano Pioli expected to make changes to his side.
With the break in play over the past fortnight, it’s been some time since the Rossoneri were last in action having battled to a goalless draw with Juventus on January 23.
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It’s hoped that the break has been positive for Pioli and the squad, as having lost ground at the top of the Serie A table over the past month or so, we now trail leaders Inter by four points having also played a game more.
In turn, this is a critical showdown as it’s an opportunity for us to close that gap and to put pressure on the Nerazzurri, and so time will tell if we can get the desired result.
Bennacer, Kessie return to XI, Giroud in for Ibrahimovic
As per Pioli in his press conference on Friday, Milan will be without both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ante Rebic, while Fikayo Tomori has seemingly recovered to be included in the squad, but is not yet ready to start after making a speedy recovery from his knee injury.
With no Ibrahimovic to lead the line, that means Olivier Giroud is expected to step in and be the focal point of our attack, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Rafael Leao providing him with support on the flanks.
It’s expected that there will be a tweak to personnel from Pioli, with MilanNews noting that Franck Kessie could get the nod ahead of Brahim Diaz as the playmaker in the side.
That will come with a dual responsibility for the Ivorian though, as while he’ll need to play a key role in our attacking play in the final third, his presence that high up the pitch will also be with the objective of preventing Marcelo Brozovic from controlling the game in midfield for Inter in mind too.
With Ismael Bennacer also back from international duty along with Kessie, he’ll likely slot in next to Sandro Tonali as the double pivot in midfield in front of the defence, and so the spine of this Milan side looks strong and will hopefully impose themselves on Inter to take charge of the encounter.
Pierre Kalulu is expected to continue in central defence with Tomori on the bench, with Alessio Romagnoli partnering him and Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria at full-back as Mike Maignan takes his place between the posts.
It promises to be another enthralling encounter between these two city rivals in the Derby della Madonnina, and with the importance of the result for us in mind, it makes it even more mouth-watering. Milan know that they need a positive result here to kick-start the resumption of the Serie A season in the best possible way.
Probable MILAN XI vs Inter (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Kessie, Leao; Giroud.
