AC Milan, fresh from a derby victory last Saturday, will be meeting tonight Lazio at the San Siro for a clash valid for Coppa Italia competition.
The last game for the Rossoneri in this competition was against Genoa. It was a difficult win grabbed in the extra time. Now, the opponent is even more difficult as Maurizio Sarri's Lazio are looking to conquer the San Siro and go through to the semi finals and face the Nerazzurri.
The Milan side and Biancocelesti will certainly clash hard in the midfield, searching for domination in order to dictate the pace of the game.
AC Milan's key players vs Lazio's quality stars
Sandro Tonali is definitely enjoying a good form this season so far and he is looking to build on his previous performance against Inter. Tonight, he is expected to start and face an experienced Sergej Savic-Milenkovic. The midfield battle between them will be really important. Whoever comes out on top in terms of ball recoveries and physicality, will help his team push forward.
On the other hand, Brahim Diaz should be looking to continue to prove his worth again after the Inter game. He is needed to use his agility, dribbling techniques and eye for goal. However, it will be a difficult task for him to play between the lines and try to penetrate the defensive line of Lazio which is made up of Luiz Felipe, Patric.
Olivier Giroud will start for Stefano Pioli since Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still injured. The French centre-forward will be looking to make another impact at the San Siro and reach his 8th goal this season with the AC Milan team. However, watch out for a possible entry from Marko Lazetic, the latest January signing who could be deployed by Stefano Pioli while the game is in progress.
In defence, Pierre Kalulu will have to continue showing his quality and worth as he tries together with Alessio Romagnoli to limit Ciro Immobile. Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria will have to be really attentive in the defensive phase while also offering support to Rafael Leao and Brazilian winger Junior Messias who is tipped to start.
Coach Maurizio Sarri will try his best to secure a victory and he is likely to use this lineup:
Reina; Hysaj, Luiz Felipe, Patric, Marusic; Milinkovic, Leiva, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni.
As for the hosts, here is the likely formation of coach Stefano Pioli:
