After the unexpected win over Tottenham in Champions League last Tuesday night, Milan are back in action in Serie A where they’ll face Monza away at U-Power Stadium.
The game will be a trip down memory lane as former Milan’s president Silvio Berlusconi and CEO Adriano Galliani bought Monza in 2018 leading the club from the third division to their first ever promotion in Serie A in 2022.
Milan returned to winning ways in Serie A last weekend by beating Torino and with the 1-0 win over Tottenham in Champions League they’ve collected two clean sheets for the first time since August after conceding 18 in the previous seven matches.
Saturday’s clash will an important test to understand if the Rossoneri have completely put their dark moment behind the back or not.
Monza are actually the only team that have never lost a Serie A game in 2023 and overall, they haven’t lost in the last eight league’s games – the longest streak in Serie A right now.
They sit in tenth place but only one point away from the seventh place that could guarantee the qualification into next year’s Conference League.
Results from their last five matches in all competitions:
Monza:
W D W D L
Milan:
W W L L L
Team News
Milan’s coach Stefano Pioli has confirmed that Fikayo Tomori is fit and will make the squad. It’s possible that he will be part of the starting line-up completing the back three alongside Pierre Kalulu and Malick Thiaw.
Ismael Bennacer is still injured and Davide Calabria too has to remain out due to a hip problem. This means that Alexis Saelemaekers will start wide on the right.
There is a small chance for Charles De Ketelaere to be a starter, as it is expected that the Belgian wonderkid will start from the bench with Brahim Diaz deployed as the number 10.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be called up for the second game in a row and he could be possibly playing some minutes coming on from the bench.
Monza’s coach Raffaele Palladino has confirmed that Carlos Augusto is not fit and he will miss his second game in a row.
Former Milan’s academy Andrea Petagna is likely to start as the lone striker with Pessina and Caprari playing behind him.
Predicted XIs
Monza (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Izzo, Marì, Caldirola; Donati, Sensi, Rovella, Ciurria; Pessina, Caprari; Petagna.
Milan (3-4-1-2): Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Tomori, Thiaw; Saelemaekers, Tonali, Krunic, Theo Hernandez; Brahim Diaz; Giroud, Leao.
Andrea Agostinelli | GIFN
