We are now two days away from the derby between AC Milan and Inter at San Siro, with Massimiliano Allegri having some things to resolve.
Every angle comes under scrutiny in the build-up to the biggest game in Italian football, especially team selection. As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) write this morning, Allegri will use the last couple of training sessions at his disposal to try find the magic formula.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
The doubts to resolve
Milan will once again have limited defensive coverage. Matteo Gabbia is out, though yesterday he was at Milanello to begin post-op therapy for an inguinal hernia. Ahead of Mike Maignan, the defensive trio will consist of Fikayo Tomori, Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic.
It remains to be seen if Davide Bartesaghi will be fit to play any part. If he isn’t called up, Allegri would only have David Odogu available among the defenders available on the bench. Opposite Pervis Estupinan will be Alexis Saelemaekers, one of four players currently one yellow card from a ban.
In the midfield, Youssouf Fofana is currently ahead of Samuele Ricci in the battle for the right spot. Luka Modric will be the anchor, playing his second Milan derby of his career, and Adrien Rabiot completes the trio.
In attack, Allegri has several options, with Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, Niclas Fullkrug and Christopher Nkunku at his disposal. The choice is likely to fall on the Portuguese and the American, the same pairing that started in the first leg of the derby, and recently vs. Parma and Cremonese.
Allegri doesn’t want to give the opposing defence any reference points. Leao will have to roam around the entire attacking line, while hopefully Captain America can rise from a difficult period, with changes in-game possible too to bolster the firepower.
After last the game he’s had, you’d have to give the start to Fofana. The problem is he is so inconsistent that you don’t know which player will show up.
I’d maybe even try Jashari as the third mid, in case Inter press Modric out of the game (which I would if I were them). This way Modric and Jashari can swap and provide no reference in the middle.