Massimiliano Allegri has resolved the final doubts he has regarding the team that will face Cremonese tomorrow night, a report claims.
It is only the first league game of the season, but there is already a big miss: Rafael Leao. He sustained a calf issue shortly after scoring the opening goal in Sunday’s Coppa Italia win over Bari, and will not be risked.
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The head coach was questioned in his pre-match presser about the midfield department and whether or not Luka Modric could get the nod from minute one against Cremonese, leaving the door open.
“This afternoon I’ll decide whether Modric will start or play during the match. Loftus-Cheek and Fofana have technique and physicality: by the end of the year, they must have scored at least 15 goals.”
Predicted Milan XI vs. Cremonese
Well, Sky report that Modric will indeed get the start. He should operate at the base of a midfield three, flanked by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Youssouf Fofana.
They have a four-man defence in their predicted XI with Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic and Pervis Estupinan, but this could look more like a three-man defence in the game.
The front three is expected to be Alexis Saelemaekers, Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic from right to left.
Predicted Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Estupinan; Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Fofana; Saelemaekers, Gimenez, Pulisic.
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A bit surprised If he bench Ricci who I though was given as the regista. Maybe he expects alot of posession and wants Modric feet for that?
It is a Sky prediction. Not really relevant.
If true, probably to break down a very defensive setup. Must have not watched our games last year!
Glad to see Modric in there.
His creativity and forward passing are needed .
Not sure why fofana would start over ricci at this point. Ricci has shown quality throughout preseason and would do a better job fighting to regain possession
Allegri does not think so.
This is going to be a 352
Tomori gabbia pavlovic
Salamakers loftus modric fofana estupinian
Giminez pulisic
Or 3-5-1-1 with Pulisic playing behind Gimenez. Either way it’s definitely a back 3 and not a back 4.
If Sky says something, expect the opposite. Ricci will start and Modric off the bench
Exactly.
Second match of the season for PSG Donnarumma has not feature.
“IF”….. Maignan did not renew i think Milan should try bring him back home with reduced salary
Man City are going for him
Jashari in bench it’s possible
I think Allegri is going to use Fofana, RLC and Ricci for a bit before using Modric more frequently.
Sucks for Jashari though, for that money you’d think he’d be a sure starter, no? …have a feeling he’ll end up like Chuck… expensive sub
Jashari needs time to adapt to Serie A. He’s young and not as experienced as Modric. I believe Allegri will start with Ricci and bring Modric and Jashari off the bench BUT in order to avoid putting a lot of pressure on Jashari , it is best to play Ricci and Modric ahead of him and give him time to settle in a new league.
Im curious How allegri will rotate players to fit a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2.
Leao-pulisic-boniface-gimenez for 2 spots in attack. Fofana -RLC- modric-ricci-jashari for the 3 spots in midfield.
For 2 spots on the wings we have Salemaekers- chuk-jimenez-estupinan-athekame-mussa.
When all new players have settled and if they dont fail I hope this will be our preferred formation.
Leao – Boniface
Pulisic
Jashari- Ricci – Modric
Estupinan – Tomori – De Winter – Athekame
I agree with you on this one 💯
The one thing I took from Allegri came at the beginning of his press conference, when he emphasized patience. It’s possible we take fewer but better shots than we did against Bari
One thing I know for sure is Allegri will use 352. I’d like to see Jashari and Ricci together. I would prefer to save starts for Modrić against bigger opponents.
Only thing missing Boniface to Milan to be 100% done is passing all the medical tests.
It’s true that it’s a crucial point in all transfers but in Boniface’s case it’s more profound due to his injury history, having two ACL injuries in addition to other muscular injuries. Milan want to be 100% sure from a physical standpoint before proceeding with signatures.
After the first medical test, fitness test and orthopedic check done today, Milan still hasn’t decided as they still have doubts and that’s why they are carrying further medical checks on Saturday before deciding to formalize the deal.
[@MatteMoretto]