AC Milan take on Juventus in the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia on Friday, and here’s how Sergio Conceicao’s starting line-up could look for the encounter.
The Portuguese tactician takes charge of his first game as Rossoneri boss after being appointed as Paulo Fonseca’s successor earlier this week, and it promises to be a difficult challenge for him to prepare his side with such limited time.
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Nevertheless, he has been hard at work over the past few days as he tries to get his ideas and principles across while getting to know the squad at his disposal, and it’s hoped that we see some encouraging signs of what we can expect moving forward.
Ideally, Conceicao would have had a full squad to select from this week, but that hasn’t been the case, with the likes of Rafael Leao, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yunus Musah and Filippo Terracciano all struggling with injuries, and they are likely to be limited to the bench, and even then, it’s likely to only be with the idea of being close to their teammates rather than being involved.
Despite those likely absentees when it comes to our starting line-up though, Milan will still put out a strong side, and as per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Conceicao will make a tactical switch and change our system to a 4-3-3 as he looks to implement his preferred solutions, albeit it could morph into a similar 4-2-3-1 that we’ve seen already this season.
Mike Maignan will start between the posts, and he’s tipped to have a back-four consisting of Emerson Royal, Malick Thiaw, Matteo Gabbia and Theo Hernandez in front of him.
In midfield, we’re expected to see Ismael Bennacer join Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reinjders in an important boost as we’ve missed him this season due to injury, and hopefully that is what proves to be decisive in this clash as we look to dominate and dictate the midfield battle.
That trio gives us tenacity, physicality and technical quality, and so hopefully the balance works well as it could be instrumental in Conceicao playing the style of football he prefers.
There’s another huge boost in the final third as Christian Pulisic has recovered from injury and having taken part in group training this week, he’s set to start with Alex Jimenez on the opposite flank offering support behind Alvaro Morata, who will lead the Milan line.
Our Serie A clash against Cagliari on January 11 is likely to provide more answers in terms of what impact Conceicao can make as he’ll have more time to prepare, but it’s hoped we get a positive reaction from the players in this one, to at least set the tone and standard for what’s to come.