AC Milan travel to Torino on Wednesday night as we look to take another big step towards qualifying for the Champions League.
Our win over Juventus on Sunday puts us in a much stronger position for a top-four finish in Serie A, as our fate is back in our own hands and we know that two wins could seal it.
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Match preview, team news
It won’t be easy against the Granata though, particularly with Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing out after suffering a knee injury during the win on Sunday.
In 2021, Milan have won 69 per cent of games featuring our talismanic forward, but only 38 per cent without him, dropping from a 2.2 points per game average to 1.3.
Further, Alexis Saelemaekers is suspended for this one, and so the pair will have to be replaced in the starting line-up by Stefano Pioli.
After getting his selections spot on last time out, the Milan boss will have to repeat the trick in midweek, as we have to secure all three points at all costs.
The hosts are without Nkoulou, Izzo, Murru and Milinkovic-Savic for this one, but they’ll continue to scrap for the 90 minutes as they sit just four points clear of danger at the wrong end of the table with a game in hand.
With the threat of relegation still looming over them, they will be desperate for the points, and so Milan will have to be prepared for a difficult night.
Probable line-up
As seen in the La Gazzetta dello Sport graphic below, Ante Rebic and Samu Castillejo are being tipped to come in to replace Ibrahimovic and Saelemaekers respectively.
Pioli does have other options in the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Rafael Leao, but those would arguably be the most sensible switches, and it’s hoped that the Milan boss makes them on the night.
Rebic came off the bench to score a superb goal on Sunday, while his work ethic, energy and all-round impact coupled with the ability to produce top-class finishes make him the ideal solution without Ibrahimovic spearheading the attack.
Elsewhere, it’s as expected with no other changes from the side that beat Juventus at the weekend, and that is undoubtedly a major positive to offer consistency and stability in the side as we look to move closer to securing a place in the Champions League next season.
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Kessie; Castillejo, Diaz, Calhanoglu; Rebic.
Image courtesy of La Gazzetta dello Sport.