The two teams only faced each other on Friday in Serie A, a game that Milan came from behind to win, scoring three times in the last 18 minutes to secure a 3-1 victory and severely dent Bologna’s hopes of a top four finish.
Sergio Conceicao insisted in his pre-final press conference that what happened a few days ago will have very little impact on the upcoming game in the capital, with it being a one-off fixture and with a trophy on the line
What seems to have given Milan life in this late-season resurgence is the switch to playing a three-man defence, given that the record reads five wins in six with 14 goals scored and just three conceded since making the change.
As mentioned above, the Rossoneri’s most recent victory was against their opponents in the final, and this will surely inspire confidence in the team. It was another comeback too, their ninth under Conceicao, with 22 points having come from losing positions.
There is nothing but good news on the injury front, too. Warren Bondo and Riccardo Sottil have travelled with the team which strongly implies there is a chance that both end up making the bench, while Youssouf Fofana is back after a foot problem.
Perhaps the biggest news is the return of Rafael Leao. The Portuguese winger was absent on Friday night because he had to serve a one-match ban having accumulated too many yellow cards, and he scored in the away game against Bologna a few months ago.
There is one major selection doubt for Sergio Conceicao to resolve: who will start as the striker between Santiago Gimenez and Luka Jovic. The Mexican is in much better form than he was a couple of weeks ago, having scored twice against Bologna in the league off the bench, with three goals in his last three games and an assist to his name as well.
However, the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Inter showed what Jovic can do from minute one as well, as he scored a match-winning double in that. Essentially, Milan have a group of ‘super sub’ strikers but no obvious starters, so Conceicao has 24 hours to make a big call.
At present, it seems as though the coach will stick with Mike Maignan in goal then Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic as the three-man defence. Alex Jimenez and Theo Hernandez remain the wing-backs.
Tijjani Reijnders should join up with Fofana in the midfield double pivot, then Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao should operate either side of Jovic.
UPDATE: Bondo trained individually on Tuesday and has not recovered. Fofana has recovered in time.
Probable Milan XI (3-4-3): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Fofana, Reijnders, Theo Hernandez; Pulisic, Jovic, Leao.
