GdS: Pioli relying on two attacking weapons amid absence of Ibra and Calhanoglu vs. Udinese

AC Milan will have to rely upon Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao to drag them through a tough encounter against Udinese tonight;

Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hakan Calhanoglu – both of whom were injured on Sunday against Roma and will therefore not be available tonight – Stefano Pioli will entrust the keys of the Milan attack to Rebic and Leao. As La Gazzetta dello Sport writes (via MilanNews), it will therefore be up to them to carry Milan past the Friulians and follow up the victory against the Giallorossi.

Rebic had a difficult early part of the season due to some problems mainly due to an elbow injury, but the Croatian seems to have returned to top form as he has scored five goals in the last seven games played. The winger put in an excellent performance against Roma and has recovered without issues from the hip problem he sustained against the Giallorossi.

Tonight he will therefore be regularly on the pitch from the first minute against Udinese, an opponent he likes as he scored a brace in the same fixture last season including an injury time winner and won a permanent place in Pioli’s Milan.

Yesterday at his press conference, the Milan boss explained how important it is that Rebic and Leao move about during the game.

“They exchange roles well, between first striker and winger, but the same can happen and did happen even with Zlatan on the pitch. I like it when we don’t give points of reference,” he said.

Pioli also had some positive words for Leao, who has grown a lot in recent weeks, but tonight something more is expected from a talent like him as he hasn’t scored since January 9 against Torino.