AC Milan will face Empoli away from home tomorrow and after two consecutive wins, they will be looking to make it three in all competitions. As always, there are a few key battles that could decide the outcome of the game,
The Rossoneri bounced back from the narrow 1-0 win against Sassuolo with an impressive display against Cagliari. Several youngsters, such as Alex Jimenez and Chaka Traore, got the chance and did well in the 4-1 win.
For tomorrow’s clash, however, Stefano Pioli will revert to the usual XI. Let’s take a look at five key battles that could decide the game tomorrow.
The key battles
Starting at the back from Milan’s perspective, the Empoli veteran Ciccio Caputo will most likely target Simon Kjaer as the Dane is a lot slower than Theo Hernandez. Caputo doesn’t have the best pace in the league either, but he’s incredibly smart with his movement and always knows where the goal is.
On the edge of the box, Tommaso Baldanzi is set to get the chance from start and while this season hasn’t been a huge success so far, he will be a handful for Yacine Adli. The latter will start in the No.6 role and he needs to do well defensively, and above all he must be disciplined to not allow players any space in that area.
In the centre of the park, Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be an important player for Milan, especially against Youssef Maleh. The Empoli man has great feet, is always very comfortable in possession, and has the ability to break the first block. Loftus-Cheek, therefore, must use his bigger size to stop the Moroccan.
In attack (for Milan), Christian Pulisic will be important as Empoli are set to start with Sebastiano Luperto on the left-hand side. The defender is big and strong but he lacks pace, which is something that the American should try to exploit.
Finally, Rafael Leao broke his goal drought with the strike against Cagliari and he will certainly be keen on scoring in the league as well. It will be an interesting duel with Tyronne Ebuehi, and it remains to be seen if the Portuguese will be at his best.
