Massimiliano Allegri is expected to opt for consistency in his AC Milan side for the big game against Napoli on Sunday.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Allegri and Milan want to lay down a marker after a good start to the season by beating last season’s Scudetto winners at San Siro. However, they face a side that have won every league game under Antonio Conte so far.
AC Milan vs. Udinese: Predicted XIs
According to this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Allegri will continue with the same rearguard of Mike Maignan in goal then a three-man defence of Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic.
Alexis Saelemaekers and Pervis Estupinan are almost certain to be the two wing-backs, either side of a midfield trio of Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot. Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic are down as the front two.
Conte meanwhile is tipped to persist with his new 4-1-4-1 system that sees Rrahmani come in for the injury Buongiorno, Lobotka as the midfield pivot, the reigning Serie A MVP McTominay on the left, and De Bruyne behind Hojlund.
The big news for Milan is that they should have two weapons off the bench: Rafael Leao has returned to the fold and should be in the squad, while Christopher Nkunku is getting nearer to 100% after a goal in midweek.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Estupinan; Gimenez, Pulisic.
Predicted Napoli XI (4-1-4-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Spinazzola; Lobotka; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund.
