AC Milan are back on the field after a 10-day break, as they take on Pisa at the Arena Garibaldi to kick off the weekend’s Serie A action.
Milan will face Pisa away from home in a league game for the first time in 35 years, with Paolo Maldini getting the winner the last time the two sides faced each other in Tuscany. Despite the fact the Nerazzurri have won once this season, they did get a 2-2 draw at San Siro, which is a warning sign.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side come into this one having won their last fixture on February 3: Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christopher Nkunku and Adrien Rabiot were the three goal scorers against an out-of-form Bologna. This is a knew game though, a sixth away from home in the last nine.
Pisa vs. AC Milan: Five key battles
Looking at the potentially decisive duels, some stick out from what should be a contest between two three-man defences. Oscar Hiljemark is taking charge of his first home game as the new Pisa boss and is tipped to use a 3-4-3, while Allegri by now has branded Milan with a 3-5-2 system.
It feels as though the key for making this another straightforward night for Milan will be how the front two of Christopher Nkunku and Ruben Loftus-Cheek do. Each scored in Bologna and they looked a dynamic duo considering the fact they had not started together, with RLC playing more as the No.9 and Nkunku roaming in behind.
The Frenchman and the Englishman will hope to given Rosen Bozhinov and Simone Canestrelli a tough night. The former signed in the winter window from Antwerp and has slotted pretty much straight in despite being 21, while the latter has started all 24 league games and is the anchor of the defence.
The main attacking threat for Pisa meanwhile is the veteran Italian forward Stefano Moreo. The 32-year-old has played across the forward line this season and has racked up five and one assist in the 19 that the Tuscan club have scored. He is expected to start on the right of the front three this evening.
So, the responsibility of keeping him quiet should fall on the shoulders of Strahinja Pavlovic. He, like Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori, is playing to keep his spot in the three-man defence given how good Koni De Winter has been in recent weeks, so this is a test that the Serbian needs to pass.
In midfield, there will be a battle between Michel Aebischer and Youssouf Fofana that could heavily influence the outcome of the game. Aebischer is one of the players in the Pisa squad with the most Serie A experience given his past at Bologna, while Fofana is playing to prove he should be the third midfielder for Allegri.
If the Frenchman emerges on top against the Swiss, it could unlock everything else. Why? Because then Luka Modric would be free to create from deep, Adrien Rabiot would have license to get forward and Milan can commit more bodies to attack, knowing that the centre is secured.
Finally, we end with a tussle on the Rossoneri’s left side between Idrissa Touré and Davide Bartesaghi. The former has started 21 of Pisa’s 24 Serie A games so far as a wing-back, and the former German youth international has the pace and size to cause serious issues in transition, as his goal and assist show.
Bartesaghi meanwhile continues to be the starter at left wing-back for Milan, having permanently displaced summer signing Pervis Estupinan. There is talk of a renewal being in the air for him, but first the focus is on helping Milan win tonight to put pressure on ahead of Inter-Juventus and Roma-Napoli.
