AC Milan face Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday night, and Stefano Pioli is expected to make some bold calls with his starting line-up.
After a disappointing campaign to date, the Rossoneri are looking to fend off the chasing pack and secure second place in the standings in our final three games of the season.
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A win this weekend would certainly be a big step towards achieving that, but it appears as though Pioli is ready to make some surprising, yet intriguing, decisions when it comes to naming his Milan XI.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao could all be benched for this clash, as the Milan boss rings the changes and could even tweak his system to go with a 4-3-3 tactical set-up instead.
Marco Sportiello will continue to deputise between the posts with Mike Maignan still sidelined by injury, while Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, Matteo Gabbia and Alessandro Florenzi are set to form our backline as Theo and and Fikayo Tomori drop to the bench.
Our three-man midfield could be formed by Yunus Musah, Tijjani Reijnders and Ismael Bennacer, with Leao set to miss out as Musah comes in to shore up the middle of the pitch, allowing Samuel Chukwueze and Christian Pulisic to provide support on the flanks with Olivier Giroud leading the line.
It’s the same touted Milan line-up that both MilanNews and La Gazzetta dello Sport have gone with, and so there is seemingly a consensus that Pioli is going to make some contentious decisions, albeit he’ll know better than anyone who has impressed in training and is most deserving of a starting berth this weekend.
Further, based on recent form and the knock-on effect of that on our results, the change to our system in particular could prove to be a welcome one. Combined with the touted personnel changes though, it’s hoped that it gives Milan a better balance across the pitch, while pairing tenacity, pace and technical ability to control the game and secure a comprehensive win.
It also means that we will have a strong bench to call upon if needed as the game goes on, and so it promises to be a fascinating night to see if Pioli’s changes ultimately work, or if we have to rely on our usual leading figures to help us get a positive result.