AC Milan host Roma at San Siro on Sunday night, and Stefano Pioli hasn’t had the boost on the injury front that he had been hoping for this week.
Goals from Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali helped us secure a 2-1 win over Salernitana on Wednesday, an important victory in our first game back after the World Cup break.
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However, as the fixture schedule continues to look hectic in January and as Milan hope to compete on multiple fronts, the last thing that Pioli needs is to be without key individuals.
That’s unfortunately set to be the case again this weekend with no real positives on the bench either, and so Milan are expected to be unchanged from the team that won in midweek, with Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Divock Origi, Rade Krunic, Messias Jr, Fode Ballo-Toure, Ante Rebic and Simon Kjaer all likely ruled out.
Predicted Milan XI vs Roma
With Maignan still sidelined, Ciprian Tatarusanu will continue between the posts. Ahead of him will be a back four consisting of Davide Calabria, Pierre Kalulu, Fikayo Tomori and Theo Hernandez, providing solidity and a good balance in that area of the pitch.
Ismael Bennacer and Tonali will remain the heartbeat of the side in midfield and will be pivotal in giving us control in this game, and we’ll see Olivier Giroud lead the line and ably supported by Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao.
While we should have been more comfortable in the closing stages against Salernitana had we been clinical in front of goal, there were a lot of positives to take from that performance.
We created plenty of chances and looked a real threat with our attacking players linking up well. That said, Pioli will have noted that we have a lot of improvements to make in the defensive phase of the game, as we looked vulnerable too often and that will be punished against top teams like Roma.
The Milan boss does have options on the bench to freshen things up or add different characteristics if necessary, but it’s hoped that the same Rossoneri line-up that secured all three points last time out, will be able to repeat the trick on Sunday.
