LAST FIVE
MILAN: LWWDW
LECCE: DWWWD
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1) *Probable*: Tatarusanu; Hernandez, Tomori, Kalulu, Calabria; Bennacer, Pobega; Leão, Diaz, Saelemaekers; Giroud
LECCE (4-3-3) *Probable*: Falcone; Gallo, Umtiti, Baschirotto, Gendrey; Gonzales, Hjulmand, Blin; Di Francesco, Colombo, Strefezza
TIME: 12pm EST/5pm GMT
PLACE: Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, Lecce
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye and Canada, BeIn for our Aussie pals, ESPNPlay for our fellas in T&T, JioTV for our Indian leoni, and illegal streams that support human trafficking everywhere.
THOUGHTS
I’m not going to lie, I haven’t watched Lecce play this season. Like at all. All I know is what I’ve read AND that Lisi has a man-crush on their keeper, Falcone. Considering how much I dislike Tatarusanu, I might have a man-crush on Falcone too…
What I do know about them from that limited reading is that they’re tough. Like tough as nails. They drew with Napoli during round 3, beat Atalanta in round 14, and beat Lazio in round 17. Lisi laid out some nice stats and info about them in his Serie A Whip Around yesterday, so head over to that for a quick read. But the takeaway is that they’re good and even more problematic, they’re in really good form at the moment.
So, what to expect in this game? Lecce’s stingy goals allowed defense and low offensive goal tally mean they will likely sit back, try to absorb, and then counter. This won’t be something new coming from a Milan opponent. For Milan, Tonali is out due to accumulation, so Pobega is likely to start there but considering how much Pioli has played Vranckx recently it could just as well be him next to Bennacer. Whoever it is they’re likely going to be the one pushing forward of the two and Bennacer will be hanging back. Other than that everything else should stay the same. I’m expecting a lot of action down Milan’s left since both Theo and Leão were rested for most of the Coppa game, and I expect Giroud to play well as well. I’m calling for a 2-1 Milan win with goals from Giroud and Brahim, with at least one of them assisted by Leão.
Forza Milan