AC Milan will welcome Monza to San Siro for the first ever meeting between the two sides in Serie A looking to make it four wins in a row in the league.
A crowded fixture list between now and the World Cup is likely to see Stefano Pioli make a number of changes to the starting line-up that will face the fellow Lombardy side, and that will make the battles that happen across the field all the more crucial.
Ante Rebic will have the tough job of making Milan not miss Rafael Leao, and he will also have to replicate his exploits off the bench no player has been directly involved in more goals than the Croatian as a substitute in the division this season (3). He is likely to play closer to the striker and therefore will be up against veteran Italian defender Giulio Donati, formerly of Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz.
There will be a lot of eyes on Sergino Dest‘s performance in the right-back role given his struggles since arriving, with Brazilian wing-back Carlos Augusto likely to test him with forward runs to try and create for the three forwards. The USA international must also get involved in the build-up as he did off the bench against Chelsea to pin the 23-year-old back.
An all-Italian battle should take place in the midfield as Sandro Tonali will come up against Stefano Sensi. They will likely follow each other like hawks given that Sensi is Monza’s top scorer this season with two goals, and his opposite number netted a late winner on Sunday in the 2-1 victory at Hellas Verona with a run in behind.
Divock Origi is expected to get the start as the centre-forward in what will be his first for the Rossoneri, and he will be tasked with getting the better of Pablo Mari. The 29-year-old Spaniard impressed at Udinese on loan from Arsenal last season, and will be at the heart of the three-man defence.
Dany Mota Carvalho should be the starting centre-forward for Monza as per reports, and the 24-year-old played a big role in firing them into the top division. He has one goal in Serie A thus far so will look to bolster his tally, and Simon Kjaer is expected to return from injury to face off against the Portuguese.
As long as Tataru plays like a decent GK we will be all good. If he starts playing like a confused GK who have forgotten how to save and give passes then we will be in trouble. Only he knows why he is holding the ball for so damn long.