In addition to changing the formation to a 4-4-2, Paulo Fonseca has made three player changes to the starting XI for AC Milan’s clash against Inter. A bold decision by the Portuguese manager, while Simone Inzaghi has gone for the usual players.
Fonseca is in desperate need of a win tonight to save his career and while many expected him to continue with his principles, few predicted the formation change. Indeed, with Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao on the flanks in midfield, it is almost a 4-2-4 formation.
Emerson Royal is also replacing the injured Davide Calabria at right-back, while Matteo Gabbia is giving Strahinja Pavlovic some much-needed rest. Other than that, the XI is exactly what you would expect and it’s nice to see that Mike Maignan has fully recovered from the blow he received against Liverpool.
As for Inter, there are absolutely no surprises in the starting XI. Federico Dimarco has made it back in time for the game and starts, while Lautaro Martinez is looking to get off the market this season as he starts next to Marcus Thuram.
Official Milan XI (4-4-2): Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Pulisic, Fofana, Reijnders, Leao; Morata, Abraham.
Bench: Raveyre, Torriani; Jiménez, Pavlović, Terracciano, Thiaw; Loftus-Cheek, Musah, Zeroli; Chukwueze, Jović, Okafor.
Official Inter XI (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro, Thuram.
Bench: Di Gennaro, J. Martinez; Bisseck, C. Augusto, Darmian, de Vrij, Palacios; Asllani, Frattesi, Zieliński; Arnautović, Correa, Taremi.