AC Milan know that they simply must win tonight against Torino in order to reopen the gap with Inter and to move ahead of Napoli in the Scudetto race.
As always, the game is likely to be won or lost through a few key battles that will take place across the pitch, and one thing is for sure: the attack will have to get firing again after scoring just four goals in the last six games.
We start exactly there, with Olivier Giroud the man who will lead the line given the injuries suffered by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ante Rebic. The Frenchman will have to get the better of Gleison Bremer, a centre-back who Milan have been linked with and who he praised after their duel back in October.
There will also be a fascinating battle between two players who are fighting for their Milan future. Tommaso Pobega is expected to start in the double pivot and should be tasked with keeping Brahim Diaz quiet. The Spaniard badly needs to find form amid rumours his loan could be ended early while the Italian is on a dry loan from the Rossoneri and wants to prove he should come back to stay this time.
Then we move to Milan’s left flank where there will be a contest between Theo Hernandez – who will hope to build in his brace in the 7-0 win in this fixture last season – and Wilfried Singo. The Ivorian has gained a reputation as one of the best young wing-backs in Serie A, and he has been linked with a move to Milan recently too.
Then it will be up to the centre-back pairing of Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori to keep boyhood Milan fan Andrea Belotti and Croatian forward Josip Brekalo quiet. The Torino captain would love to score against the Rossoneri amid speculation over a potential dream summer move, while Brekalo is on six goals for the season. Kalulu-Tomori didn’t concede a goal in the month of March, and have shown some real chemistry.
