AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli is ready to choose a very bold starting line-up for the game against Inter at San Siro tonight, according to a report.
According to this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), Pioli will field what is the first choice defence in front of Mike Maignan, with Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez the full-backs then Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori the centre-backs.
The midfield double pivot should be the rather interesting combination of Yacine Adli and Tijjani Reijnders, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek acting ahead of them as the playmaker.
The big changes come in the attacking department, with Christian Pulisic expected to be diverted to the left wing and Yunus Musah on the right side, with Rafael Leao the centre-forward.
It is certainly a bold choice, and one that means that the likes of Ismael Bennacer, Olivier Giroud, Samuel Chukwueze, Noah Okafor and Luka Jovic should be present on the bench.
There are no surprises for Inter and their 3-5-2 system, with Pavard-Acerbi-Bastoni the three-man defence in front of Sommer, then Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan and Dimarco across the midfield, and finally Thuram and Lautaro up front.
Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo; Adli, Reijnders; Musah, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic; Leao.
Predicted Inter XI (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.
It might be better like this. Pioli knows he will be sacked, so he takes more risks. I doubt our usual lineup will give us a chance against Inter, so better experimenting with something new and hopefully get a hint of how to contain Inter.
So Musah is the new Krunic? I mean playing him RW after RM,LM,CDM,RB it looks like it. Sums up pretty Pioli’s genius as usual
Finally .If this is true then we might have a chance tonight.
Obviously it depends how Leao,RLC and Musah especially apply themselves to the attacking/defensive duties but it makes sense for various reasons.
This should mean we will tactically set out much better then the last big matches where we had more holes then swiss cheese.
Plus Chuk , Okafor& Bennacer can come in in any time to get one over Inzaghi when needed.
I think it is going to be a 3-4-1-2 at least in the defensive phase. Musah and Theo will take care of Di Marco and Darmian, with Calabria playing more defense to avoind 1 to 1 vs. Lautaro and Thuram. RLC on Chala, Reinjers-Barella and Adli-Miki. Two wide strikers with Leao on the left and Pulisic on the right. I don’t think we will see Leao n9 and Pulisic on the left. On paper 3-4-2-1 would make sense against Inter.
I think you are right.
I think he should drop RLC and Giroud who have been contributing nothing.
Play Adli – Reijnders – Bennacer(or Musah) in midfield with Adli as Regista and the other 2 as Mezzala.
Totally agree. Giroud is finished, and RLC’s general play outside of a few goals he has scored is terrible. He is lazy, he slows the game down, and I can’t stand watching him. Pulisic is so much more effective in that position. Okafor deserves to get some more game time instead of Giroud now.
Yeah agreed. I don’t mind if we play 433 as I wrote above or 4231, I just want to see players who are hungry, dynamic and in form.
Chucky and Okafor have both done well when called upon.
Pulisic has done well at AM also.
The options are there, they need to be used.
Some may say if we started Leao – Pulisic – Chucky behind Okafor, we would have no subs. Firstly this is the last important game of the season, so I expect them all to be able to run hard for 90 mins!
Then we can still introduce the likes of Jovic and RLC or midfielders to wind the game down.
That was the midfield I was hoping for Reijnders/Adli/Musah(Bennacer) that you mentioned and a front line of Puli/Leao/Chuk but at least Pioli is going for a counterattack style and left out the CF’s who not contributed.
You need someone to take care of Di Marco. If Calabria takes him, then you are back with 1 to 1 situation in the back as Theo will for sure play on Darmian. That’s why I think playing Musah on the right makes a lot of sense. You cannot waste Chuku or Pulisic there.
We need to have a back 3 to face Thuram and Lautaro.
That makes a lot of sense. Musah should do allright on Di Marco if he doesn’t get caught up too much with the offensive phase. I’m a little worried about RLC tracking back to cover Hakan though.
It’s compensating for Calabria who cannot handle Dimarco. Eventually when we get a proper RB we won’t need to constantly adjust our lineup to help Calabria out.
hahaha Right On.
Yeah…is the right time to make another experiment 😆😆. Just like in the second leg with Roma, we make experiments…great…
Pioli is so inovative, so out of the box, so modern and he has such a good feeling, he always nailed 😆😆
I knew we were screwed in that 2nd leg as soon as the daft lineup was announced.
I expect manager and players to show some balls and play for the club/fans tonight.
This game is not for trophies it is for dignity, it is for the fans not the players glory. Let’s see tonight who actually cares.
Anybody walking around or complaining should start looking for a new club
Isn’t chukwueze a winger? So why is he on the bench and Musah is playing un his position?
I couldn’t understand that point either initially. But I’m guessing Pioli wants a right winger with stronger defensive attributes.
To control Jnter counter attacks.
I think Musah will not play as right winger but as wing back on Di Marco. Milan will defend with a back 3 with Calabria-Gabbia-Tomori to have numerical superiority vs. Lautaro and Lukaku.
Yea, that’s my thought too. Chuk doesn’t defend well.
Besides RLC and Giroud, other players also contributed nothing. Can’t pass and cross properly. The usual lineup is the best lineup that Milan have. Other lineup will be a downgrade like against Sassuolo that down by 1-3.
What? Giroud and RLC are useless this season. RLC scores a few goals but his general play sucks, and Giroud is clearly finished. What team are you watching?
Again, Milan down by 0-2 with this lineup.
Giroud is the top scorer of Milan with 13 goals and 8 assists.
Okafor
Leao RLC Chukwueze
Reijjnders Adli
Theo Tomori Gabbia Terraciano
Maignan
My line up. I think this would be solid and maybe bring on Pulisic in place of RLC in the 2nd half. Pioli know his fate is sealed come the end of the season so he is just going with the flow. Stupid choices and decisions.
The irony in saying stupid choices and decisions and then you want Pulisic dropped lol 😂
I don’t understand this insistance on fielding Musah on the right wing. It’s one thing to try a player in a new position (Leao as a striker), but Musah this season has failed each time he was filled in the right wing.
I mean it’s not like Chukwueze has been red hot or anything is it…. 😂🙄😩
By red hot do you mean he almost scored a bunch of goals? That’s how low the bar has been set for him now. He’s the only guy on the team that gets credit for almost scoring and almost having an assist. Yes, he has looked better recently but that’s only compared to his horrible form for most of the season. He still holds the ball for way too long every time he has it, and is not much help defensively which is why Musah is in there.
Musah as rw. Baldy has lost his marbles. Another pioli next level idiocracy.
Yea that’s a hard one to process. I think musah can drop to midfield and help contain Inter in the off phase more than CHuk would.
What kind squad is that
I mean I respect him trying to think differently but for me the front three needs to be Leao, Okafor and Chukwueze…pace, unpredictability…
The Leao-Theo axis is too dominant to ditch. Plus I think Pulisic looks a bit burnt out so use him as an impact sub. The best way to beat inter is to get at them with pace and skill. Inters back three will bat away crosses for Giroud all day long so he’s right to rethink that
I think the idea is Puli and Leao interchange in the middle and LW throughout the game.
And if we’re lucky, we defend deep and counter.
He should start Kjear instead of Gabbia. Despite aging,Kjear has more experience than Gabbia.
I think after that comment, you should not make anymore.
This is unpredictable, very unlike Pioli, but I don’t get it…
Musah has played on the wing but underwhelmed before. The only way this makes any sense is that his defending is better than Chuk’s and he can drop to add numbers to the midfield, otherwise why isn’t Chuk starting on that wing?
Leao in the middle hasn’t been his forte, but this can work if we sit back and counter. Leao hasn’t shown that he can carry us in big games, so is putting him in a new position in a big game the right move?
Why not let Okafor run down the middle and Leao in his preferred position? At least the two of them can overlap and interchange. Unless that’s the plan with Leao and Puli…
But I’m glad that at least common sense prevailed and Oli got dropped given his form.
I don’t have high hopes for this tie. If things go away and at least we tie this game, I would be happy to not have lost another Derby.
He wants to imitate De Rossi thinking a change in tactics will confuse the opponent.
He won’t and we’ll lose. Don’t quote me, just watch the game tonight it’s gonna be dreadful.
Tonight will be fun icl. I mean this formation is total chaos,however unpredictable, which is something Milan might need tonight as we dont want a repeat of 5 -1
Forza Milan