Serie A Matchday 17 Milan vs Torino
Heading into Matchday 17 in Serie A, the Rossoneri will take on La Granata of Torino. Milan came off their first loss in Serie A after a 27 game unbeaten streak falling to rivals Juventus 3-1 at home on Matchday 16. Stefano Pioli and his team will be looking to bounce back after this loss. Pioli needs to get his cards right to continue to build onto the great start of this season. Milan has been battling adversities all season long and yet once again the red and black faithful will have to overcome another hurdle. The Rossoneri will be missing the likes of their star playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu who will be out with an ankle injury. Zlatan Ibrahimovich is still recovering from his injury and Ismail Bennacer won’t be back anytime soon. Ante Rebic and Rade Krunic will still be out due to COVID-19. Though these important players will be missing, Milan get back Sandro Tonali. Entering this matchday Milan sit in 1st with 37 points and Torino sit in 17th with 12 points. This game should be an interesting one as ex Milan manager Marco Giampaolo will be leading Torino after he was sacked for his performances at Milan and replaced by Stefano Pioli.
Probable Starting XI:
(4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Calabria, Romagnoli, Kjaer, Hernandez; Kessie, Tonali; Castillejo, Diaz, Hauge; Leao
Getting Tonali back will be a huge boost for Milan. Brahim Diaz will have some big shoes to fill with Hakan Calhanoglu out but we have seen a glimpse of Brahim’s talent on display in the Europa League in which he has 3 goals in 6 appearances and averages 86% pass accuracy (via uefa.com). On the other hand, the Rossoneri would want Rafael Leao’s brilliance the past couple of fixtures to continue as his attacking output and ability to press opponents when on defense will be vital to creating opportunities. Theo Hernandez would like to put the last fixture behind him and provide more to the team both offensively and defensively. Milan should be able to pull off the result at the San Siro against Marco Giampaolo’s Torino.
