MN: Pioli can rely on three certainties while he ponders the XI to face Udinese

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan must start off the new season on the right foot this Saturday against Udinese, and Stefano Pioli already knows the first three names on his team sheet.

MilanNews reports that Pioli is studying the best starting XI to face off against Sottil’s Udinese side, with doubts in particular about who will start in place of the injured Sandro Tonali and whether Yacine Adli or Charles De Ketelaere might get the nod from the first minute.

However, there are two certainties to start from and that is the centre-back pairing of Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori. The Rossoneri ended last season with those two as starters, conceding just twice in the final 11 league games (with nine clean sheets), and they will hope to pick up where they left off.

While waiting for Simon Kjaer to return to 100% fit, the intention of Milan is to not only rely on the Frenchman and the Englishman but also to renew the contract of both too.

Then, the third certainty is Mike Maignan, who arrived last season and ensured that Milan did not miss his predecessor Gianluigi Donnarumma. Maignan was almost always among the best on the field with his saves and his distribution, and the hope is for that to continue too.

Tags AC Milan Fikayo Tomori Mike Maignan Pierre Kalulu
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