AC Milan and Inter will take on each other in the Derby della Madonnina next weekend and it should be a very exciting clash, with both sitting at the top of the standings. And there are a few ‘bench weapons’ to keep an eye on.
It’s the first time that the Milanese sides will take on each other while both sitting at the top of the standings since 1962. This makes an already special game very special, and the tactical battle will be key on the night.
As highlighted by Gazzetta Dello Sport, the game could be decided off the bench and there are a few attacking weapons to keep an eye on. After all, many of the stars are currently on international duty and might be a bit tired.
Starting with Milan, Noah Okafor is the obvious one. He’s a player who likes to attack, not afraid to use his dribbling to attract the interest of the defenders. Against Roma, he was especially good at this, running down the clock.
Samuel Chukwueze is the other one and might even play from start, depending on Christian Pulisic who will return late from international duty. The Nigerian winger is hard to dispossess and can cause some damage. Last season, he scored 13 goals for Villarreal.
Moving on to Inter, Marko Arnautovic and Alexis Sanchez will be the main ones off the bench. The former, who returned to Inter, provided an assist in the season opener after 56 minutes played, while the latter comes from a 14-goal season in the league with Marseille.
Bro, just looking at this title you can see our attack’s depth compared to that of inter. A single long injury on Lautaro and their season is done.
Not really. They have 4 strikers. Sanchez is more than enough to cover him, he has already been there and showed it, and had a great season at Marseille. I would say to give up wishful thinking, not useful. Inter has quite good backup for all positions. Milan is a bit thinner on CF and LB positions.
They use 2 strikers, so ideally they should have 5 instead of 4.
We use 1 striker and we have 3. That’s good.
At this momment , Chukwu isn’t any kind of a weapon. He played in 3 games and always shaky, nothing to show except many unsuccesful dribbles and losing a ball every time.He is not even close to take that RW from Pulisic any time soon.Only hope for him can be that we go back to 4231 whit Pulisic as AM,but that will not happen since Reinders and RLC fits better in 433. Okafor was decent,good.
You understand he needs the minutes right? This isn’t FIFA on PlayStation…
Knowing the effect old players have we are in a disadvantage. Mind you these boys have exp in serie A.
Milan has pretty good alternatives but gotta keep in mind this group is still pretty young together.
Sanchez and Arnautovic can step in and deliver and at that stage of their careers they only have about half an hour of intense football in them anyway
I think Okafor and Chu-Chu are fantastic weapons off the bench to throw on in the second half at the tired legs of the opposition. I like our starting 11, with the exception of Giroud/Jovic rotating.
As for Coppa games, or matches against the minnows, I don’t know why we couldn’t actually start Chu-Chu and Noah, and give Puli/Leao a break.
Why is it Chu-Chu? His nickname?
With Pulisic returning late from national team duties, I think Chukwueze should make his first start of the season. Bear in mind that UCL is a couple of days after the derby and Milan needs the strongest team for European football.
Pulisic can come in much later to stretch his legs – maybe last 15 mins.
Also, It may be better to start either Jovic or Noah at the top. Jovic has not trained with the team, so it looks like Noah should get the nod. However, I don’t expect Leao to play the full 90mins in the derby, because of UCL. So, a good rotation strategy is important.
I think Leao-Jovic-Chukwueze would be okay. There will obviously be a couple of misplaced passes and miscommunication. however, I think Inzaghi likes to play safe and he too will have UCL at the back of his mind, so he will most like play for a draw.
While I want Milan to win, a draw at this stage is not necessarily bad. The season is long and it’s important to avoid unnecessary overloads and injuries.
Giroud, like Pulisic can come in to get some tune up for UCL.
Who knows, subbing on a bulldog like Romero late on may even win the game for Milan if it is deadlocked, but then… this is not PlayStation.
We are facing a title contender and rival in the league. This is a 6 point game. Not so sure playing it safe is the good option. I would semi rotate on the CL game and make Verona one a rester for starters.
Newcastle are on a downhill trend after a good start.
The derby is the one to load up all of our top guns on and shoot to kill.
Milan can not go for a draw nor to loose to inter, it should inter concern of milanese attack..
A win will boast the confidence in the lads