AC Milan’s European campaign resumes tonight when they take on Slovan Bratislava in the Slovakian capital, and Paulo Fonseca has apparently decided on his team.
The pressure has been dialled up a bit after Milan were booed off the field following a boring 0-0 draw against Juventus on Saturday that leaves them 10 points off top spot in Serie A.
However, Europe brings a difference complexion and the target for Fonseca’s side has to be to win the remaining four games in the league phase. That would likely be enough to get them a place in the top eight and thus direct access to the last 16.
The predicted line-up
In terms of absences, the players that will not be available are strikers Alvaro Morata (suspended) and Luka Jovic (not in the UCL squad list) plus midfielder Ismael Bennacer and defender Alessandro Florenzi.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports that Mike Maignan will have a defensive line of Davide Calabria, Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori and Theo Hernandez ahead of him. Emerson Royal is in doubt due to an ankle knock.
The midfield double pivot is down as Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana again, while Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor should be the attacking trident behind the centre-forward Tammy Abraham.
The bench will therefore feature the likes of Rafael Leao, Francesco Camarda, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah. The only doubt seems to be Gabbia vs. Thiaw in defence.
Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Theo; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Abraham.
