AC Milan kick start 2022 with the visit of Roma to San Siro on Thursday evening, with the Rossoneri hoping for a positive return to action.
After signing off with a 4-2 win over Empoli last time out prior to Christmas, Stefano Pioli will hope his side can pick up from where they left off and start the New Year on the right foot as we continue to pursue a Serie A title this season.
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His selection issues will have become increasingly problematic this month with COVID concerns to consider as well as a string of key individuals leaving for international duty at the AFCON.
Nevertheless, there is still a strong squad at his disposal, and it’s hoped that with important players returning from injury too, we’ll have enough to get the better of Jose Mourinho’s side.
Ibrahimovic to start, Leao and Rebic touted for bench
As per Antonio Vitiello this week, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic all resumed group training in a major boost for Pioli in terms of our attacking options.
Given the significant time that has passed since their last meaningful minutes, it’s unlikely that either Leao or Rebic will be ready to start this week, but Ibrahimovic will hope to lead the line and try to inspire us to a victory over his former boss.
With no Franck Kessie or Ismael Bennacer available this month, Sandro Tonali now has the opportunity to step up and take full control of the Milan midfield, and perhaps Pioli’s management of his minutes so far this season was with this period in mind.
The 21-year-old has been brilliant when featuring thus far, but now he has a new level of responsibility and it’s going to be fascinating to see how he develops and evolves as a player.
Tiemoue Bakayoko is expected to get the nod alongside him, while Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Fikayo Tomori, Alessio Romagnoli and Theo Hernandez are expected to form the backline behind them.
Naturally, that all now depends on the COVID situation at the club and if there are any further positive tests moving forward, but it’s hoped that we can avoid a scenario where we are missing key players which in turn creates a real disadvantage and a difficulty to compete.
With Leao and Rebic perhaps not yet ready to start, that should see Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz and Messias Junior start in the attacking trident behind Ibrahimovic, and it’s hoped that they can produce the required level of quality and creativity to ensure we test Roma’s defence and pick holes in it to find breakthroughs.
The bench is looking healthier with Davide Calabria pushing for a return too, and so it’s hoped that 2022 begins well for Milan in midweek as we’ll be hoping to wipe out the four-point deficit to Inter as quickly as possible and put real pressure on our Scudetto rivals in the coming weeks and months.
