AC Milan face a difficult trip to Lazio on Tuesday night as we look to get back on track after a difficult run of results.
The Rossoneri threw away a comfortable lead against Roma earlier this month, and since then, we’ve crashed out of the Coppa Italia, dropped further points in Serie A and suffered a heavy loss to Inter in our Italian Super Cup showdown.
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Having now fallen 12 points adrift of league leaders Napoli, albeit having played one game less, Stefano Pioli will know that we can’t afford to keep slipping up if we have any hope of successfully defending our league crown this year, but it certainly won’t be easy in the capital in midweek.
As reported by MilanNews, Theo Hernandez hasn’t travelled with the rest of the squad after picking up a muscle issue in training on Monday, and so we will be forced into at least one change.
The expectation is that Sergino Dest will deputise at left-back, allowing the rest of the backline to remain the same with Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu and Davide Calabria ahead of Ciprian Tatarusanu.
That said, Pioli does have the alternative option of perhaps shifting Calabria over to the left, Kalulu at right-back and then start Simon Kjaer in the middle with Tomori, but it remains to be seen just how much shuffling of the pack he is prepared to do.
Ismael Bennacer and Sandro Tonali are set to continue in the midfield pivot, with Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao providing the attacking threat behind Olivier Giroud.
Pioli arguably has a decision to make amongst that quartet though, with the likes of Charles De Ketelaere and Tommaso Pobega potentially pushing for a spot in the Milan XI ahead of Diaz, while it remains to be seen if Giroud can continue a relentless run in the side or if he is rested with Ante Rebic a potential option to fill in for him.
It’s a tricky time for Pioli as given our recent form, there is perhaps a temptation to make changes and freshen things up. However, make too many changes and it upsets the balance of the side entirely and could lead to further problems.
This is a tough moment that Milan are experiencing, but it’s hoped that we can find a solid performance and come away with an important win to get ourselves back on track and provide all concerned with a much-needed lift.
