For the first time in this Serie A campaign, Milan will be forced to do without Tijjani Reijnders, an essential member in the Rossoneri midfield who had played 23 out of 23 matches as a starter so far.
The Dutchman has been suspended for one match by the Sporting Judge (due to accumulation of yellow cards) and therefore will not be available Sunday evening for the home match against Napoli.
This morning's report from La Gazzetta dello Sport states that without the former AZ Alkmaar player, Milan will play with a double pivot: indeed, there will be space in the midfield for the first time from the start for the pair composed of Yacine Adli and Ismael Bennacer.
In the past, the two have played together but only for a few minutes: 28 minutes this year against Frosinone and then another 38 minutes between 2022 and 2023. So, it's not an entirely unprecedented pairing, but it's close.
The alternative would be to give a starting spot to Yunus Musah and his muscles, but evidently Pioli believes he needs more quality in midfield, hence the double pivot. The feeling is that Adli will play in a slightly deeper position to screen the defense, while the Algerian will have more freedom to detach and join the attack. In practice, Bennacer will have to do what Tijjani Reijnders usually does, as relayed via Milan News.
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