The international break is over, a relief for Milan given the injury chaos it caused, and Serie A resumes.
The Rossoneri play Fiorentina tomorrow night at 20:45 at San Siro in the seventh league round.
Despite several key absences, the match will be tough. Fiorentina arrive wounded in pride and desperate for their first Serie A win of the season. The game also marks Stefano Pioli’s return to San Siro as an opponent for the first time. In short, there are many storylines.
As mentioned, the international break brought only bad news for Massimiliano Allegri, who lost four players for tomorrow’s match, the latest confirmed on Saturday afternoon. Rabiot (out for a month), Pulisic (three weeks), Estupiñán, and Nkunku will all miss the game. Following Nkunku’s withdrawal, the idea of using Leao and Loftus-Cheek as the attacking pair has gained strength, keeping Gimenez available as an offensive option during the match.
Rafael Leao is ahead in the race for the striker role, with Loftus-Cheek likely to play alongside him. In midfield, Bartesaghi will start on the left, while on the right there’s a Saelemaekers-Athekame battle, with Alexis slightly favored. In the middle, Modric will start with Fofana and Ricci, who takes advantage of the injuries to earn a starting spot. The defense remains unchanged, with Maignan protected by the usual trio of Tomori, Gabbia, and Pavlovic. From Milan Futuro, Cheveyo Balentien is promoted, along with Emanuele Sala, who has just returned from the U20 World Cup, as pointed out by Milan News.
Probable Milan lineup (3-5-2):
Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Ricci, Bartesaghi; Loftus-Cheek, Leao.
