AC Milan will be aiming to keep their hopes of a European spot alive when they welcome Lombardy neighbours Como to San Siro on Saturday evening.
There is certainly a lot of external noise surrounding Milan at the moment, from the sporting rumours to the speculation about Sergio Conceicao’s days being numbers. It is something the coach addressed in his pre-match press conference, but there is a duty to let the pitch do the talking.
As per this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Rossoneri are expected to line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation against Cesc Fabregas’ side. It is a relatively new system and one geared around balancing the midfield, something that has been an unsuccessful mission all year.
The five key battles.
We start with the difference-maker in the Lecce game: Rafael Leão. The winger will hit 250 appearances in all competitions with Milan barring any surprises (currently 249, with 68 goals and 50 assists). Since his debut with the Rossoneri in 2019-20, he is the only Serie A player who has scored at least 50 goals and provided at least 50 assists in all competitions.
Ivan Smolčić will be his opponent if the reported line-ups are to be believed. The Croatian defender is more of a natural centre-back but should play on the right of a back four, having arrived at Como in the winter transfer window from Rijeka, making five appearances to this point.
The main threat for the visitors is without doubt Assane Diao, who scored his first Serie A goal in the reverse fixture against Milan. With his next goal, he will become the Como player to have scored the most times in the league before turning 20. He is currently level with Giovanni Migliorini and Bruno Susmel.
The goal he scored at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia back in January highlighted Milan’s weakness in defensive transitions, something that Theo Hernandez will have to try and address. It hasn’t been a good season for the Frenchman yet he is aiming to earn a renewal with the club, and must start by keeping the Senegalese winger in check.
There will be an eye-catching midfield duel between Tijjani Reijnders and Maxence Caqueret over on the left side of the field. It goes without saying that Reijnders has been among the stars of a difficult season for the Diavolo with 12 goals and three assists to his name, and if it is a 4-1-4-1 he should be freed to play more of a creative role.
Caqueret meanwhile possesses similar qualities in terms of his propensity to create, his impressive technique and ability to drive forward with the ball via pass or dribble. The Frenchman joined in January and already has two assists to his name in six starts, so he must be watched on the counter.
Santiago Gimenez scored his last Milan goal nearly a month ago, and it seems that he has fallen victim to the same issues as his team-mates while suffering from a lack of service. Nonetheless, he has arguably been unlucky too, and will hope a return to home comforts can help him add to his Serie A tally.
Marc-Oliver Kempf is the man that will likely have to keep tabs on the Mexico international. Having been a virtual ever present under Fabregas with 21 starts in the league to his name, the 30-year-old German will try to make it a physical battle with Gimenez, stopping him attacking space and getting into dangerous areas.
Even though ex-Milan man Patrick Cutrone has amassed nine goal contributions this season, it is expected that Nico Paz will start up front for Como, between Diao and Gabriel Strefezza. The Argentine has been one of the signings of the season with six goals and four assists, having arrived for €6m from Real Madrid who are already thinking of a buy-back.
It is likely that Paz will function more as a false nine, looking to connect the midfield and the wingers, creating space to run into with his smart movement. Thus, Matteo Gabbia will have to keep a watchful eye on him and step out at the right moments to limit the time he has to operate, especially on the break. The same applies to Malick Thiaw, too.
