Stefano Pioli is strongly considering fielding an attacking trident that AC Milan have not used before during the current season, according to a report.
Pioli has had the week to think about how he will replace Ruben Loftus-Cheek who will be out due to picking up a one-game ban following his yellow card in the win over Fiorentina last weekend.
Sky are reporting that Christian Pulisic will be the one to take his spot as the attacking midfielder rather than pushing Ismael Bennacer, Tijjani Reijnders or another midfielder further up.
The American will operate behind Olivier Giroud and will be flanked by Rafael Leao on the left and Samuel Chukwueze on the right, with Yacine Adli and Reijnders in the double pivot.
Malick Thiaw will miss out due to a foot problem and Matteo Gabbia will take his spot, with Alessandro Florenzi also likely to start at right-back over Davide Calabria.
Simon Kjaer is back at Pioli’s disposal but it seems most likely at the moment that Fikayo Tomori will partner Gabbia at the back while Theo Hernandez is back from suspension and will occupy the left-back role.
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez; Adli, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud.
Oooh huge if true. Now im excited to watch this lineup
I like it very much
OMG!!!! It’s like Pioli reads these threads… or maybe SOME of us really know what we’re talking about 🙂
Thats just silly man. Why would he play 3 out of 4 wingers at the same time 5 days before the “crucial” Roma game.
Its Lecce ffs. Pop adli up there or benny, Musah on the pivot and thats it. Or even better play 433 like a normal person, we dont have an AM anyway
“Or even better play 433 like a normal person” lol. Spot on re player usage too. The one thing that might be preventing Pioli form using a flat 3 in midfield or pushing one of the other guys up is that Bennacer seems to still be struggling with injury. So if you think using 3/4 wingers for this game in a stretch when we’ll be playing every 3 days for two weeks, then using 3/3 fully fit CMs (Adli, Reijnders, Musah) is just as difficult, if not more.
at least ruben will be rested. no excuse for a poor game vs roma lol. Tho this game would be a nice time to give zeroli a start. see what the kid is made of
Perhaps Zeroli can get some minutes if we are in control
And the other issue is that Pulisic, who already does defensive work (unlike Leao), will now be asked to run even more, as being more central will mean pressing the opposing CMs. Hopefully he won’t be run into the ground for Roma.
While I’d like to see Puli as a CAM, the recent game vs Jam where he played basically all across the front, his best position was still at RW. Hope Pioli has better tactics for him than the US coach
I think it will be an interesting experiment. Leao drifts in the middle occasionally, can interchange with Puli.
Okafor or Jovic as the center forward
Pulisic has played as a 10 with the national team. With how wide open Lecce played against Roma this would be an ideal situation. He can carry the ball forward between the lines and is a very good short range passer. He sees the field very well and will attempt passes that split players. This would be beneficial for Leão, Chuk, and Giroud.
The idea to have Pulisic play as an attacking midfielder is something I wanted to see for a while, shall he proves to be successfull there then there will be no need to look for an offensive midfielder (not like we were linked to any to begin with).
I note however the double pivot are Adli and Reijnders. With Pulisic as the third midfielder, this formation is very weak on the recuperative department. While it’s against Lecce, we should be extra careful about counter attacks.
Yes this is perfect line up thanks to Pioli
I’m curious and totally fine about the Leao-Pulisic-Chukwueze axis, but I’m concerned that it’s Adli-Rejinders in the double pivot. Neither of them are known for their defensive abilities. Assuming Benny is not playing because he’s still having fitness issues, then why not play Musah next to Reijnders? At least he offers the energy needed to track back and close down. I’d feel much more comfortable with those two in the double pivot. That said, Pioli could also be saving Musah for a hard shift next to Reijnders against Roma precisely because Benny might not be fit to start that one either, in which case it’s a smart move. Bottom line is that Bennacer’s status must be clafiried.