AC Milan will switch back to Serie A action after their Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen when they take on Fiorentina on Sunday in the final game before the international break.
According to what is being reported by MilanNews, Paulo Fonseca is thinking of naming the same team that was seen in the derby and against Lecce, which is of course the 4-4-2/4-2-4 attacking side with two strikers.
Indeed, the report claims that Fonseca is inclined to use Alvaro Morata just behind Tammy Abraham, with Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao on the flanks. Morata was not at 100% on Tuesday night due to bursitis so started on the bench, but came on and made a big impact.
In defence, there could be a couple of changes because Davide Calabria and Strahinja Pavlovic are both aiming for a starting spot. Calabria has recovered from an adductor issue and wants his place back from Emerson Royal, while Pavlovic has not started any of the last three games.
Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan seem sure of keeping their places, while there is no mention of the midfield pairing of Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana being disrupted either, given the chemistry they are building.
I would give Pavlovic a chance next to Gabbia. I would continue with Royal, because he’s improved marginally and needs to continue building chemistry with the squad. No point in starting Calabria since they won’t renew his contract, unless Royal is shown to be markedly inferior, which right now I’m not sure he is.
What I want to see is Fonseca’s captaincy merry-go-round when Calabria starts a game and isn’t wearing the band… Does he sulk? Does he play better to earn it back?
In my opinion our starting Center Backs should be Pavlovian and Gabbia. Sorry but Tomori is not better than Pavlovic and I think over time Pavlovic will prove his worth once he settles in serie a.
If Morata can’t play then Fonseca needs to abandon his useless 4231 and play 433 that will make Musah and RLC more useful and it will give more balance to the team.
We loss too many points from games that Milan could have easily done better if Fonseca used either 442 or 433. I don’t get why coaches feel players should adapt to their style instead of adapting to the players they have at their disposal and play the formation that best suits the players he has available to him. Sigh!
“In my opinion our starting Center Backs should be Pavlovian and Gabbia. Sorry but Tomori is not better than Pavlovic and I think over time Pavlovic will prove his worth once he settles in serie a.”
At least Tomori can distinguish friend from foe when passing the ball.
That pass from Pavlovic to Gravenberch to start the 3-1 goal haunts me to this day.
Tomori has the speed to run w anyone, and is usually reliable. I wish he could play on the right.
This is what I’d like to see. Convert Tomori to RB and play Pav and Gabbia at CB. Not sure it would work but Tomori would be a big upgrade to what Milan have at RB now.
That’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Tomori isn’t great on the ball but would lock the flank down defensively. Would be worth testing against a bit of a weaker opponent perhaps.
I still like him at cb though, despite the little mistakes he makes here and there. He’s usually the quickest guy on the pitch which comes in handy with this team, which isn’t the most solid defensively as a unit.