AC Milan travel to Cagliari on Wednesday, and Stefano Pioli could make at least four changes to his starting XI for the encounter.
The Rossoneri picked up an important win over Verona last time out, but it was far from a convincing performance as we continued to struggle to show any sustained quality in the final third.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Milan secure vital win but fail to convince
That followed the heavy defeat to Inter as well as a goalless draw with Newcastle Utd in the Champions League, and so given it was hopefully an important confidence boost for the squad, they will look to build on that in midweek and make it back-to-back wins in Serie A.
Changes are expected though, as Pioli hopes to welcome back players from injury, while he’ll have to manage the workload of key individuals given the quick turnaround before we face Lazio on Saturday.
Theo Hernandez to return, Reinjders to fill Krunic void
Both Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez resumed group training on Monday morning, and so it’s possible that the influential defensive duo could come back into the line-up after missing the win over Verona.
Given Marco Sportiello’s solid display last time out though, that could convince Pioli to avoid taking any risks with Maignan, although Hernandez’s return will be crucial as we could revert back to a 4-3-3 as a result.
Alessandro Florenzi will likely deputise for Davide Calabria at right-back, with Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw completing the backline.
In midfield, Rade Krunic has been ruled out of our next three games at least after sustaining a hamstring injury at the weekend, and so Tijjani Reijnders could drop back into that deeper-lying role as he looks to dictate our play while trying to provide defensive protection too.
The industry, physicality and presence of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tommaso Pobega either side of him will therefore be vital to ensure we don’t get overrun and exposed, and so that midfield trio will have a pivotal role to play should they all start.
Luka Jovic could start up top as Olivier Giroud sits out and rests, while Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic could provide support on the flanks in the final third to ensure we have some consistency in the Milan XI.
That said, MilanNews have both Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor starting alongside Pulisic in the attacking trident, and so it will be interesting to see how much Pioli is confident about changing.
Too much and it risks impacting our rhythm and balance, albeit they were pretty much non-existent against Verona anyway, while too little and he risks further injury problems.
It’s a fine line to tread, but hopefully the Milan boss gets it right and we return home with all three points and a positive performance as a bonus.
Predicted AC Milan XI vs Cagliari: Sportiello, Florenzi, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo; Loftus-Cheek, Reinjders, Pobega; Pulisic, Jovic, Leao.
