AC Milan will have to get back on their winning streak as they have a chance to battle for a Champions League spot when they take on Sampdoria at home to San Siro this Saturday night.
Lost points against Empoli, Salernitana, Cremonese and Spezia in recent games have left Milan at the bottom of the battle for a top-four finish. Apart from the three points that could be won against relegated Sampdoria, the fans’ sense of loss at the team was boiling.
Stefano Pioli said in his pre-match press conference that it was the team’s responsibility to win the remaining three games and try to finish in the top four, but admitted that an assessment must be made after the season.
Match information: Date: May 21, Sunday Kick-off time: 2:45 (Beijing time) Venue: San Siro Referee: Forno (Var: Di Martino)
Team news: Aside from the well-known absences of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ismail Bennacer due to injuries, it must be mentioned that the team’s physical condition has looked poor in recent weeks.
Although Inter Milan have played one more game in 2023, they are in much better form over the two legs, meaning that rotating squads before or between European qualification decisions will not work in the league.
However, Pioli now only needs to focus on one game, one game a week between now and the end of the season, which means there are no excuses or reasons for the team.
According to the latest news from Milan, Pioli will indeed be relying on his starting line-up for tomorrow night’s game against Sampdoria, with Mike Maignan starting in goal.
David Calabria and Theo Hernandez will play at full-back, while Malik Ghav will partner Fikayo Tomori or Simon Kjaer at centre-back, meaning the Englishman It’s okay to take a break.
Rade Krunic and Sandro Tonali will be in midfield, Alexis Salemex will be on the right instead of Mesias, Brahim Dia Ziz acted as the playmaker, with Rafael Leao on the left and Olivier Giroud in the centre.
It is worth noting that the Sky team listed Tomori and Kyar as a central defender combination, but the players in other positions did not change.
Possible AC Milan starting XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Giave, Kjaer, Theo; Tonali, Krunic; Salemex, Dia Zi, Leo; Giroud.
opponent
It wasn’t an ideal season for Sampdoria, which eventually led to their relegation back to Serie B after 10 years. They have only scored 18 points this season and have achieved 9 wins, 23 draws and 35 losses in 3 games.
Sampdoria have been underperforming in the top flight and their summer transfer window did not bring much optimism. They only paid for Caputo, 34, Monache, 17, and Sabiri, 25.
Dejan Stankovic replaced Marco Giampaolo at the start of the season (where did we hear about him before?), but he did not bring about the hoped-for turnaround in results. Their relegation fate was confirmed after a loss to Sampdoria, with both Verona and Spezia winning that weekend.
They have struggled to score, scoring just 21 goals while conceding a whopping 62. Since the third round of the season, they have been at the bottom and have ranked third from the bottom for eight consecutive games.
Their only victories have been against Cremones, Sassuolo and Verona, and a defining symbol of their season may have been Monday night’s game against Empoli, where they led until the 93rd minute, but ex-San Pudoria player Piccoli equalized the score.
On the injury front, Sampdoria will need to contend with Ignacio Pusetto continuing his recovery from knee surgery, and Andrea Conte has a tendon problem and is expected to be out against his former club.
Goalkeeper Emil Odero will not play due to a shoulder problem and midfielder Gerard Yepes has been sidelined for more than a month so is unlikely to play. Sabiri is also out, but Mehdi Leiris is expected to return.
Stankovic mainly uses a three-man defense and two playmakers behind the forwards. Gunter, Nuitink and Amione are expected to play in defense, Zanoli and Ojero will play at full-back, and Rincon And Winks in the midfield, Djuricic in the frontcourt, Gabbiadini and Quagliarella in the backcourt.
Possible Sampdoria starting XI (3-4-1-2): Lavaglia; Gunter, Nuitink, Amione; Zanoli, Rincon, Winks, Ojero ; Djuricic; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella.
Noteworthy
In the second leg against Inter Milan, Leon received a lot of attention, but he did not seem to be 100% and was basically ineffective. Meanwhile, Giroud is in a scoring drought, so Milan need their attacking leader against a poor defence.
Brahim Diaz will only have three games to prove he is worth the more than 20 million euros required for a permanent contract
In an attack that has lacked confidence all season, Gabbiadini leads the charge with six goals and two assists in his 32 appearances.
Beyond that, Gunter will have to be at his best with Zanoli to avoid Leo’s runs and there could be an interesting midfield battle between Tonali and Tottenham’s on-loan Winks .
predict
Given Milan’s poor form in the league and the potential for Champions League fatigue, it’s difficult to predict anything at the moment, but anything less than three points could see fans’ frustration start to boil.
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