AC Milan and PSG will battle it out at San Siro this evening and after zero wins so far, the Rossoneri will be looking to grab their first one. Of course, there are quite a few key battles that could decide the affair.
Stefano Pioli’s men have collected two points in the tournament thus far and could really do with a win tonight. However, it won’t be easy and there are several stars to keep an eye on for the Milan players, including Kylian Mbappe.
The first battle is, in fact, Mbappe against Fikayo Tomori. The Englishman played to the right in the reverse fixture and was beaten on the first goal. Therefore, he will be looking for revenge this time out, bound to end up in 1v1s against the French champion. He will also need the support of Davide Calabria, of course.
Vitinha is another player who was really lively in the first encounter, covering a lot of ground and making life difficult for Milan. He’s expected to start on the left tonight but it’s possible that he could put a lot of pressure on the Rossoneri’s holding midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders, who is set to replace Rade Krunic in that role.
The youngster Warren Zaïre-Emery was perhaps the best player last time out and it will be up to Ruben Loftus-Cheek to stop him in his tracks. The Englishman recently recovered from injury and his physical presence is essential for Milan.
As for Milan’s attack, it’s clear that Rafael Leao needs to step up and show what he’s capable of tonight. He will be up against Achraf Hakimi and although he managed to beat the Moroccan a few times in the reverse fixture, he also needs to add the end product.
Finally, Olivier Giroud was more or less invisible last time out and will have to make himself available not just inside the box, but also in the first phases of the attack. The battle against Milan Skriniar should be an interesting and tough one once again.
I really think we should rest Reijnders and Giroud, we need pace up front, time to give Okafor a chance, and I know people hate him but we need a goalscoring midfielder, and the only one we have is Pobega !! Give him a chance, none of the other midfielders are performing !!