AC Milan face Udinese on Saturday night as the Rossoneri look to extend their winning streak in Serie A.
There was disappointment in midweek as our defeat to Liverpool ended our participation in the Champions League for this year, and so the full focus will now be switched to competing for the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia.
READ MORE: Four big talking points as Milan exit Champions League after Liverpool loss
After back-to-back losses in the league at the end of last month, Milan have bounced back well to pick up six points from a possible six in the last two outings, and we’ll hope to make it three wins on the bounce this weekend to continue to try and create some daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack at the top of the table.
Triple injury boost for Milan as Leao, Castillejo and Giroud eye return
As per Antonio Vitiello, Samu Castillejo will return from injury and be available to Stefano Pioli for this one, while Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud are next in line in terms of being closest to returning from their own respective knocks.
Time will tell if they all get the green light from the medical staff in time for Saturday, but Milan certainly need to look after the fitness of the players moving forward as we’ve struggled with injuries throughout this campaign thus far, and there is still a hectic fixture schedule to come.
Nevertheless, getting that trio back would undoubtedly be a real boost as it gives us more options in the attacking third, while it’s hoped that Davide Calabria and Ante Rebic aren’t far behind in pushing for a place in the side again too.
For the clash with Udinese though, La Gazzetta dello Sport believe that there will be three changes to the side that faced Liverpool, as per their graphic below, with Alessandro Florenzi and Alexis Saelemaekers coming in on the right flank to replace Pierre Kalulu and Messias Junior respectively, while Rafael Leao could come in at the expense of Rade Krunic.
It remains to be seen if that is indeed what Pioli goes with, but Leao’s return would make a big difference given he adds much-needed pace and direct running to the side, while Florenzi’s experience and know-how could be important in a potentially tricky away game.
Despite our injury woes, that is still a strong XI, and so Milan will hope that they can keep things tight at the back and build a platform for our attacking quality to go out and win the game to consolidate our place at the top of the pile in Serie A.
