AC Milan face rivals Inter in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Tuesday hoping to take a big step towards silverware.
The Rossoneri have suffered real disappointment over the last two weeks following back-to-back draws in Serie A, and that in turn has knocked us out of our stride in the Scudetto battle.
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Fortunately, Inter have also slipped up and dropped points, and while it’s no longer just down to us and our results, this game could be a key point in the season heading into what should be a tense title run in.
Both sides will be desperate to not only get one over the other with that in mind, but ultimately it’s another step towards winning silverware, and that’s something that both Stefano Pioli and his squad will want to achieve this year in our ongoing progression.
With changes to the Milan line-up expected, time will tell just how many Pioli opts to make…
Florenzi, Krunic tipped to start for Milan vs Inter
With what’s at stake and given the strength of the opposition, it will come as no surprise if Pioli goes with as strong a starting line-up as possible for this encounter.
That would mean no rest for Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez and Fikayo Tomori who form a pivotal part of our defensive line, although there could be one switch in defence with Alessandro Florenzi pushing to come in for Davide Calabria.
Time will tell if Pioli goes with that to just freshen things up a little down that right side, but he’s expected to go with a trusted partnership in midfield with Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie protecting the backline from midfield.
Kessie’s form has been poor so far this season for the most part, and so Milan need him to rediscover the physically imposing, athletic and powerful player that was such a fundamental part of our side not so long ago, with his link-up with Bennacer proving to be the heart and soul of the side that was so crucial to our style of play.
Rafael Leao will look to continue his impressive form as he simply can’t be dropped at this stage given his importance in the final third, with Messias Junior perhaps getting the nod on the opposite flank. Although he has struggled to offer enough, he does provide a bigger offensive threat than other options available in that role.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic still not ready to return, Olivier Giroud is a shoe-in to start once again, while there could be an interesting tactical tweak from Pioli behind him as Rade Krunic is being tipped to make the XI.
It’s similar to what we saw against Inter last time we met, with Kessie being deployed in the No.10 role on that occasion, more so to disrupt and deny Marcelo Brozovic the time and space to make Inter tick, and so Krunic could be asked to do a similar job for us this week.
With Brahim Diaz struggling to be an influential part of our attack and a lack of options beside him to provide creativity in that area of the pitch, solidifying things and keeping it tight with Krunic might not be the worst idea, while we will have the option of bringing Diaz on to change the game if needed.
Milan could certainly do with a morale-boosting win in this game, which could simultaneously also deliver another blow to Inter in the coming weeks. While it would be nice to put ourselves in a commanding position heading into the second leg, this result could also have an impact on the Scudetto race, and so it’s hoped Milan come out quick and start strong to set the tone early.
