Last game was a lot of fun. With nearly everything settled (2nd wasn’t quite locked down yet), Milan played loose and free and it was easily the most fun I had watching Milan…or at least the last 50 minutes or so was.
There are still a ton of rumors going around about, well, everything but mostly around Pioli. Our regulars here know where I stand (I think it’s foolish to fire Pioli unless you go with a guaranteed upgrade), and while I’m not convinced it’s a slam-dunk that Pioli’s gone, I do think it’s probably not 50/50 that he stays. But…but! We can hold off on this topic for one more week.
For now, let’s focus on the trip to Torino and what is usually, as Lisi likes to say, like a trip to the dentist playing against this Juric-coached Torino.
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WDDLL
TORINO: WDLDD
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-3-3): Sportiello; Terracciano, Tomori, Thiaw, Kalulu; Bennacer (C), Reijnders, Musah; Okafor, Jovic, Pulisic
TORINO (3-4-1-2): Milinkovic; Masina, Buongiorno, Tameze; Rodriguez (C), Ilic, Linetty, Bellanova; Ricci; Pellegri, Zapata
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 2:45pm EST/5pm GMT
PLACE: Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Torino
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.
*Let us know if this needs updating*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
As mentioned in the Milan-Cagliari post match, Pioli ran out a different lineup last game than what we’ve been used to in part to rest some guys but also give some minutes to guys who have been out or not playing for one reason or another. My favorite was seeing Kalulu and it was a fresh reminder that Milan HAS the RB solution in-house and it’s one less thing for them to worry about this summer. He was up the pitch, kept the width, made tons of overlapping runs, and displayed his speed up and down the right side all game.
The rest of team looked good and I expect an aggressive side again in this as Milan strive for that magic 100 number of goals scored this season across all competitions. They’ll have to do it without RLC and Chukwueze, who are both out with injuries (additionally Gabbia appears to be out on accumulation). Shouldn’t be a problem as there are still lots of options in a attack.
As for how they ARE lining up, Pioli mentioned in his presser yesterday that he’s going to be resting guys who have been playing a lot and who have the Euros coming up, so think of Leão, Theo, and Giroud. Sure enough, the lineup is somewhat similar to the game vs Cagliari and I’m expecting an attacking approach tactically.
This lineup, like last game, appears to be a 4-3-3 according to Fotmob but I’m expecting them to be in the 4-2-3-1 mostly. I think we see Reijnders drop back in as the CAM and Bennacer to be the one making darting runs from the double-pivot. Terracciano is actually getting the start at LB and the whole back line (Tomori, Thiaw, and Kalulu round out the defense) should be playing very advanced with all the pace, so look for a high backline and quick win-back-the-back-the-ball movements…or at least they should be.
In the attack, Pulisic starts at RW, Okafor at LW, and Jovic is getting the nod at CF. Okafor likes to play wider at times that what we usually saw Leão do this past season, so I’ll be watching him and what Terracciano does behind him.
Here’s what Lisi thinks (partial quote here, you can find his thoughts in totality in yesterday’s Whip Around): Milan will rotate but that will feature that guys that want to and can score. I think Torino does the same. Probably get good odds here on BTTS or over 2.5. I’d consider each. I think milan comes in a little hungrier wanting to get to 80 points this year. Pulisic TSOA – *added after lineups posted*
Let’s do this!
Forza Milan
gillis