Big win midweek, time to see how Pioli handles the next few weeks.
LAST FIVE
MILAN (5th): DDWDW
LECCE (16th): DLLLL
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Hernandez (C), Tomori, Thiaw, Kalulu; Krunic, Tonali; Leão, Diaz, Messias; Rebic
LECCE (4-3-3): Falcone; Gallo, Umtit, Baschirotto, Gendrey; Oudin, Hjulmand (C), Blin; Di Francesco, Ceesay, Banda
TIME: 12pm EST/5pm 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 dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
START THE STARTERS*. This is the mantra, it’s always been our mantra, and it needs to be Milan’s for the rest of the season. The asterisk means it doesn’t need to be the EXACT same starting lineup each time but it does mean the main antagonists need to always be out there and out there for most of the time. Yes this puts undue burden on Milan’s best players – so what. Leão wants to get paid, this is part of that equation. Brahim wants to make this Milan move permanent, this is part of the deal.
Moreover, peppering in non-starters with elite players can elevate their play and make the drop off less severe. Think about Nocerino with and without Zlatan out there back in 2011. That’s what Pobega, Saelemaekers, even Calabria can be (I’d still take Kalulu as first choice RB and then probably Florenzi, Calabria’s shutdown of Kvaratskhelia notwithstanding). So for example, if the rumored starting lineup with Rebic up top is played, as long as Brahim and Leão are starting behind him then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rebic score today. Without them, well look at the Empoli and Bologna games. So again, START THE STARTERS*.
At the time of this writing, Lazio lost, Inter won, and Juventus got back their points. I still don’t believe Juventus will remain unpunished but still, it would be nice to get a top 4 locked down before the 1st leg of the Champions League semifinal without any intervening circumstances. At worst, at the end of this round, 2nd-6th will be separated by 9pts with Milan in 5th. If Atalanta win and Juventus lose, 2nd-7th will be separated by 9pts. A little hot streak here could position Milan to play Inter in the CL with a little bit of a buffer, which would be ideal for Milan and a little less stressful for us fans.
As for this game, does Milan go back to the high press after sitting lower vs Napoli? If so then I want to see Thiaw in for Kjær and Kalulu in for Calabria. If Giroud sits I’m actually fine with either Rebic or Origi, as I think whatever we get there will be about the same. Krunic may not start as well, which is also ok since I don’t think Lecce will be bombing forward and with Pobega in there I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a quality chance or two on goal, which he can surely put in the back of the net.
One final thing: if Lecce completely packs it in then I wouldn’t mind seeing Florenzi at RW. He’s the best crosser on the team and I love seeing him whip those in. Either way, and no matter what happens, Milan at home means they need to bring back all 3 points.
Go get’em, boys!
Forza Milan
gillis