LAST FIVE
MILAN (6th): LLLLD
TORINO (7th): WLDWL
FORMATIONS
MILAN (3-4-2-1) *Probable*: Tatarusanu; Thiaw, Kjær, Kalulu; Hernandez, Tonali, Krunic, Saelemaekers; Díaz; Leão; Giroud
TORINO (3-4-2-1) *Probable*: Milinkovic-Savic; Rodriguez, Buongiorno, Schuurs; Vojvoda, Linetty, Vieira, Aina; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria
TIME: 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT
PLACE: San Siro, Milano
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.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Difficult to predict what exact approach Pioli is going to employ today but we can be certain that a more conservative one than the Scudetto-winning high press/high line Pioli has used for most of his time at Milan. But, it also won’t be the uber defensive one we saw vs Inter, filled with terrible options to spur an attack, as the probable lineup is expecting to see a slight modification from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-1-2.
This expectation does what many of us thought should be tried last season to address the below average RW play by removing the position from the pitch altogether. If Saelemaekers does play then him the RWB is much better than him the RW. In fact, I’d actually prefer him to Calabria at RWB, who’s slated to start if this probable lineup is to be believed.
The formation would also get Brahim back in and provide Milan with an option when winning back possession and Leão as a SS works too since he’s been drifting inward a lot lately anyway. Both of these changes, regardless if it is a 3-4-1-2 or a 3-5-2, will have Brahim central and get some speed up top to hopefully take advantage of any possession Torino has…which I’m hoping is more than normal for them.
I’m optimistic if we do get a 3-4-1-2 and think a Tomori-Thiaw-Kalulu backline would be great when at full health and even if Pioli continues to play Calabria he’ll at least have some cover. In attacking this would allow Tonali to move up the pitch a bit more during possession and would fit Pobega well should he play. Either way Milan will need one more guy making runs into the area or making himself available in this formation since the RW won’t be there but it’s a tradeoff I think is worth making.
Lastly, Milan’s width has really sucked during this terrible run of form so I hope Theo and whoever is at RWB can provide some so opponents have to work harder than they have been, which would also put them in a less advantageous position to counter should they win back possession. Either way, all 3pts today are vital and considering Torino has beaten Milan TWICE this year already, I’m really hoping the law of averages kicks in and prevents Torino from having that rare 3-wins-vs-the-same-team-in-one-season achievement.
I’m going with a 2-1 Milan win.
Forza Milan per sempre
gillis
***I was so excited to see Calabria out that I updated the lineup pic above and I’m going with a 3-1 win now! (Milan will still concede because Tata is caca)