After an impressive comeback against Torino on Thursday night, AC Milan will once again go up against Il Toro, but this time in the Serie A.
With the team continuing to impress us Milan fans, the Rossoneri will have to be seen as the favourites on Monday, especially considering the team faced each other just three days ago, where Milan won. However, the San Siro side will have to stay focused as Torino have proven to be a difficult team when playing at home, having won nine out of eleven possible there.
Taking their last encounter into consideration, it’s safe to say that this will be an interesting game, with both teams showing their quality out on the pitch. Montella seems to be having a slight advantage over Mihajlovic, who was the Rossoneri’s manager last season.
THE TEAMS
After resting last time out, due to the flu, Alessio Romagnoli is expected to return to the starting eleven on Monday, partnering up with Gabriel Paletta.
Youngster Manuel Locatelli is also expected to get the chance, ahead of Jose Sosa, who started in the regista role last time out. By the looks of it, Kucka (or Pasalic) and Bertolacci will form the rest of the midfield.
Bacca is set to start instead of Lapadula upfront with Suso and Bonaventura, which is understandable, considering that Torino are Carlos Bacca’s favourite opponent in the Serie A with four goals scored in three games.
Torino’s lineup looks set to be almost exactly the same as on Thursday, which could prove costly for Mihajlovic’s mean considering it was only three days ago they played.
*AC Milan Probable XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Abate, Paletta, Romagnoli, Calabria; Kucka (Pasalic), Locatelli, Bertolacci; Suso, Bacca, Bonaventura.
Torino probable XI (4-3-3): Hart; Zappacosta, Rossettini, Moretti, Barreca; Benassi, Valdifiori, Obi; Iturbe, Belotti, Ljajic
*The lineup will be updated once new reports on how Milan will line up is available.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
As mentioned earlier, Torino are Carlos Bacca’s favourite opponent in the Serie A with four goals scored in three games, which will make it even more interesting to watch the Colombian on Monday. It’s safe to say Bacca has not played as well as last season, but you know what they say, better late than never.
You should also keep an extra eye on Andrea Bertolacci, who has improved massively after coming back from a long injury. On Monday, he’s expected to start in the same position as last time out, left midfielder, where he’s allowed to push further up the pitch when being given the chance. This is a style of play that Bertolacci enjoys, as it’s similar to how Genoa played during his breakthrough season.
On Torino’s side, Andrea Belotti will be a constant threat as the player is having the best season of his career, with 13 goals this season in the league so far, he is definitely a player to keep an eye on. He also scored against Milan in the Coppa Italia on Thursday but was denied a second by Donnarumma.
LAST TIME THEY MET
The two teams met each other just three days ago in the Coppa Italia round of 16, where AC Milan were victorious, beating the Turin side by two goals to one. After going down 0-1, Milan showed great character as they turned the game around, with Kucka and Bonaventura scoring.
