Milan coach Stefano Pioli could make up to five changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s mouth-watering clash against Lazio. The Italian manager fielded a mixed XI in a come-from-behind 3-1 at Cagliari in midweek Serie A action.
Pioli gave Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao a much-needed rest at Unipol Domus. Noah Okafor, who initiated the comeback with his first league goal for Milan, took the Frenchman’s place in attack. Samuel Chukwueze replaced the new No10 but played on the right, with Christian Pulisic moving to the left.
Tactical changes paid dividends in Sardinia as Milan thumped newly-promoted Cagliari to close the gap on Inter at the top of the standings. Another noteworthy takeaway from that game was another superb performance from second-string goalkeeper Marco Sportiello. But the ex-Atalanta man won’t start in tonight’s fixture.
After missing out on back-to-back league matches, Mike Maignan will return to the fold, as per Gazzetta dello Sport. The French stopper picked up an injury during a 0-0 Champions League draw against Newcastle United. Milan couldn’t count on him against Hellas Verona and Cagliari. But he’s back now.
Malick Thiaw had an impressive game against Cagliari. Yet, he could surrender his place to Simon Kjaer, with Fikayo Tomori remaining an irremovable object in the Milan backline. Pioli could make one last defensive alteration on Saturday.
It seems that Milan captain Davide Calabria has regained full fitness. Like Maignan, he hasn’t been part of the squad since the game against Newcastle. His imminent recovery means Alessandro Florenzi will return to the bench.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |