AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca appears to have resolved the doubts that he had relating to the starting line-up that will take on the Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen tonight.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports that Fonseca will name a back four of Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez in front of Mike Maignan, which means just one change from the Lecce game with Fikayo Tomori dropping out.
The midfield double pivot of Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana remains, as do Christian Pulisic on the right wing and Rafael Leao on the left wing, but Alvaro Morata is not expected to be fit enough to start up front alongside Tammy Abraham.
That means that Abraham’s compatriot Ruben Loftus-Cheek should operate behind him as an attacking midfielder, while the Spaniard will take a spot on the bench alongside other potential game-changers like Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze.
At present, the paper believes that Emerson is winning the battle 60-40% over Davide Calabria at right-back, with the same percentage for Pavlovic over Tomori and then Loftus-Cheek having an 80% chance of starting.
For the latest Leverkusen team news as well as more opposition insight as well as stats, ones to watch and a prediction check out our pre-match preview.
Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Emerson Royal, Gabbia, Pavlovic Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Abraham.
Predicted Bayer Leverkusen XI (3-4-2-1): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Terrier, Wirtz; Boniface.
Why? Why do these coaches not see RLC isn’t an attacking midfielder? Why do they put Reijnders as a double pivot ? It makes no sense. He has looked amazing as an AM.
Let musah or rejnder play the attacking midfield instead of Loftus cheek
Nice one coach.we are solidly behind you.It’s a must win.
Just win this match please… As we can’t avoid to on zero point after 2 uefa matches
Every team needs a player like RLC who can play in any position but RLC should not be starter and should always start from bench.
That’s Musah right now. + Musah is young, like really young. He can and probably should, master at least one role. (hopefully the DM to give Fofana decent backup)
the more i watch the more i think RLC wants (and should) alternate with Reijnders instead of with the CAM or Fofana. Hear me out. His body language and the way he plays, he wants to be in the midfield but not as a DM entirely and not as a CAM entirely. He wants the freedom to help defensively and help on offense as he has some skill for both. (hence his preference for a 4-3-3). Well, it’s not his side, but it’s exactly what we ask of Reijnders. RLC does not seem entirely comfortable as a CAM, and he looks disjointed in the 2 man pivot because he wants to push forward.