AC Milan head to face Napoli on Sunday night knowing that they must turn a corner after recent defeats against Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
According to MilanNews, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is not expected to recover for the game in Naples, while Samuel, Chukwueze, Ismael Bennacer, Mattia Caldara, Marco Sportiello and the suspended Malick Thiaw are also out.
However, the presence of Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor is in doubt too as both have experienced muscle discomfort, which means against Stefano Pioli’s choices will be more forced.
Mike Maignan returns from suspension (served against Juventus) and will be in goal while Theo Hernandez is also back in the defence, alongside Fikayo Tomori and Davide Calabria. For the other centre-back spot it is a battle between Pierre Kalulu and Simon Kjaer.
In the middle of the field Yunus Musha and Tijjani Reijnders should keep their spots, while Yacine Adli is expected to take Rade Krunic’s place between them.
There are no options up front as the attacking trident of Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao will once again be used.
Probable Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Theo; Musah, Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao.
Bench: Nava, Mirante; Kjaer, Pellegrino, Bartesaghi, Krunic, Pobega, Romero.
Doubtful: Okafor, Jovic.
Battles: Kjaer-Kalulu (40-60%); Musah-Pobega (70-30%).
Injuries: Sportiello, Bennacer, Caldara, Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek.
Suspended: Thiaw.
Mirante ???
Really ? We are going back to the Kalulu -Tomori CB pairing that doesn’t work. It worked for maybe 6 matches 2 years ago and has a been a disaster since.
They are too similar. Both undersized, overaggressive CB’s that chase the ball. Tomori Kjaer is the better pairing.