AC Milan will be up against Cremonese in the early kick-off slot today, and as always, there are a few key battles that could decide the outcome of the game.
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Massimiliano Allegri is reportedly set to make two changes to the starting XI, fielding a strong one despite suspension risks ahead of the derby. For example, Adrien Rabiot is starting despite him being just one yellow card away, but at least that means there will be some good battles.
Cremonese vs. AC Milan: Five key battles
Starting at the back from Milan’s point of view, Koni De Winter will have quite the task to deal with the veteran Milan Djuric. At 2 metres tall and with impressive strength, the Bosnian has caused issues for the Rossoneri in the past.
The good news is that De Winter has been in much better form lately, so while this match-up might have worried us at the end of last year, it could shape up to be a good battle now. That said, there’s only so much you can do if Djuric gets going with flick-ons and such.
On the right-hand side, Alexis Saelemaekers will have to be good at closing down Giuseppe Pezzella, who loves to get forward for a cross. With the aforementioned Djuric to aim at, and also the acrobatic Federico Bonazzoli, his crossing space must be limited.
Saelemaekers is only one yellow card away from suspension too, so he will not only have to stop crosses, but also make sure he doesn’t get beat in the 1v1 moments. It could be a problem for Milan, actually.
In the centre of the pitch, the experienced Serie A men Adrien Rabiot and Morten Thorsby will be up against each other. Both have roughly the same size, which should make for an interesting battle, as well as a knack for getting into the box in attack.
That said, the feeling is that Thorsby’s focus for the game will be more on stopping Rabiot than getting forward himself.
Rafael Leao, if he starts to the left, will have to get past his former teammate Filippo Terracciano (currently on loan from Milan). The Cremonese defender is pretty good when it comes to the physical battles, but we also know that he can be a bit sluggish when acceleration is needed.
Terracciano will know that if you can beat Leao in the first couple of duels, asserting yourself physically, then that can have an effect on the rest of the game. Indeed, the No.10 tends to become anonymous when not in the mood.
Finally, I expect Christian Pulisic to have a rather fluid role (once again) as opposed to being a proper striker. This likely means that he will be moving in and around the penalty box, an area in which the Milan loanee Warren Bondo will surely be operating.
Bondo has good stamina and isn’t afraid to get stuck in, so he could potentially be a thorn in Captain America’s side.