Paulo Fonseca is preparing to name his first starting XI in charge of AC Milan, with the season opener taking place tomorrow. Torino are the opponents and according to a report, the Portuguese manager currently has two battles to settle.
The pre-season has been a positive one for the Rossoneri, winning four out of five games (1D), and there is optimism regarding Fonseca’s ideas. Tomorrow will be hugely important, though, as you want to start the season on the right foot.
According to Daniele Longo, Fonseca has two battles to settle: Matteo Gabbia against Malick Thiaw and Samuel Chukwueze against Alexis Saelemaekers. The Italian is currently ahead 70-30, while the Nigerian is ahead 60-40. The full XI could thus look something like this:
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Gabbia, Hernandez; Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Morata.
Chukwueze and Saelemaekers have both done very well in pre-season but the feeling is that the Nigerian deserves it more. He also has more of a point to prove, having struggled under Stefano Pioli last season after the €28m (including bonuses) transfer from Villarreal.
The game is scheduled for 20:45 CEST and on a side note, several broadcasters have now bought the rights for Serie A. In the UK, for example, OneFootball has acquired the rights to broadcast the games not on TNT Sports.
