AC Milan will play in front of a sold out San Siro again this evening, and they need the backing from the fans to return to winning ways against Udinese.
Milan must once again rebound after a negative result, but the most recent is perhaps the most damaging of all. The loss to Napoli on Easter Monday was the Rossoneri’s third in their last six games, and all came without scoring.
With Inter now nine points ahead and even second place surrendered, the Scudetto dream is done and Milan must focus on defending their spot inside the top four, with fifth place only six points away. It starts with a home game against Udinese tonight.
AC Milan vs. Udinese: The five key battles
The big story in the lead-up to the game is that Massimiliano Allegri is expected to go with a 4-3-3 formation, which will see a three-man attack spearheaded by Rafael Leao. He is no stranger to playing as a striker given he has all season in the 3-5-2 (when available), but is without a home goal since the Como draw and some clues could arrive regarding whether a move back to the left is more natural.
His opponent will be Christian Kabasele, the veteran defender who will anchor Udinese’s three-man back line as per reports. The 35-year-old Belgian has made 23 starts this season and has the trust of head coach Kosta Runjaic, while he has also scored three goals in Serie A so is very much a three from set pieces at the other end.
Udinese, meanwhile, will have Nicolo Zaniolo and Keinan Davis leading the line. Zaniolo is believed to be under special observation because Allegri is a fan of his and he might be a summer target, while Davis is back from suspension and has 10 league goals to his name, making him the third-top scorer behind Lautaro and Douvikas.
The Italian and the Englishman will come up against Strahinja Pavlovic and Koni De Winter, who are set to play as a centre-back pairing for the first time. They had been Milan’s best defenders for weeks now so it seems natural they are the chosen duo, though operating without the ‘safety in numbers’ of a third CB is an added dynamic to watch out for.
Moving into the midfield, an opportunity has presented itself to Samuele Ricci, who is in line to start on the right of the trio because Youssouf Fofana is not at 100%. The Italian has found starts quite difficult to come by, but Allegri has put faith in him over using Ardon Jashari as a mezzala, so it will be important for him to repay it.
His opposite number will be the evidently talented Arthur Atta. Like Zaniolo, Atta’s performances for the Zebre have earned him links with a move to Milan, and he has racked up five goal contributions in Serie A which show that he is very much a box-to-box player who can provide some end product with his energy.
Finally, we end with a duel on the right side between Zachary Athekame and Hassane Kamara. Athekame will be entrusted to start as a right-back for the first time, as per reports, rather than the wing-back role that he has been used in exclusively so far, taking the place of Alexis Saelemaekers when needed.
With Saelemaekers playing further up, the Swiss can focus more on defensive tasks and on keeping the service from Kamara quiet. That being said, the 32-year-old Ivorian only has one assist this season so he too may focus more on helping the 5-3-2 low block, in which case Athekame’s overlaps and quality deliveries could be crucial.
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