AC Milan will face Monza in the final game of the season, with kick-off set for 20:45 tonight, and there are a few key battles that Rossoneri fans should keep an extra eye on.
Following the defeat to Roma last time out, Milan have nothing to play for in tonight’s game. The same can be said for Monza, as they have been relegated to Serie B after a disastrous campaign. As such, with Curva Sud set to leave in the 15th minute as well, it will likely be a dull game.
Sergio Conceicao is expected to make a few changes to the starting XI, with Francesco Camarda fighting for a spot, so there are a couple of things to keep an eye on tonight. Below, we go through the five key battles that could decide the outcome of the game.
The five key battles
Starting at the back, from Milan’s perspective that is, all reports are saying that the defence will remain unchanged. Fikayo Tomori is coming off the back of two tough games and will surely be looking to do better, with Keita Balde to stop.
The former Inter man is said to be starting on the right, which means he would be facing Strahinja Pavlovic more, but the feeling is that he will drift left in the game. He loves cutting in on his right foot, as we saw against Inter at San Siro this season, and Tomori will have to put a stop to that.
Slightly further up the pitch, it looks like Davide Bartesaghi will get the chance from start as the Futuro’s season has come to an end. He’s certainly a promising defender and tonight’s a big opportunity in a game with little pressure, but he will be up against Samuele Birindelli.
Birindelli loves a run forward and has three goals to his name this season, one of which came after a nice run down the right-hand side against Inter. He also scored in the most recent game so the form is positive, which means Bartesaghi has to be extra careful.
In midfield, amid rumours of a move to Manchester City, Tijjani Reijnders will surely be keen on doing his utmost for the Rossoneri. Not to convince the English side, but perhaps to make sure he goes out on a high if he does end up leaving the San Siro this summer.
The Dutchman will likely have many battles with Monza’s deep-sitting midfielder Alessandro Bianco, who’s young but equally eager to put a stop to Milan’s attacks. Given just how much Reijnders tends to move around, though, the truth is that all midfielders will be up against him.
Moving on to Milan’s attack, Christian Pulisic is on a mission as he could break two personal records tonight. With one goal, he would equal his best goalscoring tally and beat his goal contributions record, so there is a lot at stake even if the game doesn’t mean much.
Andrea Carboni, who will be starting on the left-hand side of Monza’s defence, is tall as well as strong and will definitely look to outmuscle the American. The latter has struggled when beaten physically so hopefully, he can find space elsewhere (or use his speed against the 24-year-old).
Finally, it looks like Luka Jovic will get the chance up front and that means he will be battling it out with the Swede, Arvid Brorsson, who’s tall and certainly not afraid to get stuck in.
Camarda is also eyeing a starting spot but if he were to start on the bench, we will surely see him in the second half and thus he will give this battle too.
