Udinese head coach Kosta Runjaic has previewed the trip to face AC Milan, giving little away about his attacking options.
Milan are back in action at San Siro on Saturday night hoping to bounce back following their 1-0 defeat to Napoli at the Maradona on Monday night. That loss probably ended any dreams of a Scudetto comeback, while now the gap to fifth place has been depleted to six points.
The build-up to the game from a Rossoneri perspective mostly concerns whether there will be a switch to playing with a 4-3-3. Massimiliano Allegri played things with a straight bat in his own conference earlier today, but above all the need to get the attack going again is a priority.
Udinese kept free-scoring Como at bay in their last game, and their boss Runjaic spoke at a press conference on the eve of his side’s trip to San Siro to face the Rossoneri. His comments have been relayed by MilanPress.
How do you approach the match?
“Obviously, our goal is to improve on last season, it would be a good result to reach 50 points. It’s still achievable, but we need to work hard. That doesn’t mean we’re lacking motivation: we can play with a clear head, but that doesn’t mean we’re carefree.
“We’ll face Milan, against whom we haven’t picked up a point since I arrived. They have the second-best defence in the league, they went 24 games without a loss.
“They want to bounce back after the defeat in Napoli, and their goal is to qualify for the Champions League. We want to play a good game; there will be many fans in Italy cheering for Milan, and we want to have our say.”
Will Zemura and Buksa be back?
“Zemura still needs some time, but if all goes well, he’ll be there for the final three. Buksa is improving a lot, we’ll see in the final training sessions, but we might bring him with us to Milan, then we’ll decide how much he can play.”
Will the Davis-Zaniolo front two return?
“I don’t want to take away any options, we could even stick with the 3-4-2-1. We won’t play with four at the back like in the first leg. We missed Davis against Como, he’s confident and will definitely start tomorrow. We have various options, and I haven’t decided yet. Let’s hope we make the right choice.”
Are you prepared for Milan to potentially use a 4-3-3?
“Milan could change, but it doesn’t matter because they have great quality and strong players. We’re ready for anything: we’ll try to play our game for the full 90 minutes, like we did against Como.
“Milan are very strong in one-on-one situations and on the counter – we’ll have to avoid simple errors. The starters don’t matter because they have quality, and the decisive factor will be how we play. I’m optimistic.”
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We’ve heard Allegi say time and time again the attack needs to get going. Do we see anything different tactically. No. I quess it’s just shooting practice where they get the ball to shoot in a position they rarely receive it during the game. I would write ‘LOL’ but this isn’t funny.
Udinese is strong I don’t think we will get points from them