GdS: ‘More no than yes’ – the two expected forced changes for Milan vs. Juventus

AC Milan are heading towards having to make at least a couple of changes for Sunday’s match against Juventus, a report claims.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), one will be forced in the left wing-back position: Pervis Estupinan is suspended. The other is at centre-back, where Fikayo Tomori is a serious doubt due to an adductor issue.

Who will replace them

During the Napoli game, the gap left by Estupinan on the left was filled by Davide Bartesaghi. The 19-year-old has already made 17 appearances for Milan, although only two of them were starts, one of those his impressive Coppa Italia performance against Lecce.

Bartesaghi is growing rapidly, attracting interest from foreign clubs (Arsenal) and could already be ready to start at the Allianz Stadium, although Allegri also has alternative solutions available. Max appreciates him though, and shouldn’t hesitate to start him versus Juventus.

A more rogue solution could be Alexis Saelemaekers moving to the left, with Zachary Athekame on the right. A change of formation seems a more remote idea, with Adrien Rabiot moving wider and an extra midfielder (probably Ruben Loftus-Cheek) coming in.

The other change

Tomori worked individually on Wednesday due to a right adductor muscle strain. The English centre-back is being evaluated day by day, but if he doesn’t return to the squad today, the chances of him recovering in time for the match against Juventus would be very slim.

So Koni De Winter – another former Juventus man in the squad alongside Allegri and Rabiot – is warming up. The Belgian defender hasn’t yet started in the league, like Bartesaghi, but he obviously has more experience.

He’s already played at the Allianz Stadium, including for Juventus in the Champions League. Who gave him his debut, first from the bench (vs. Chelsea) and then as a starter (in Turin vs. Malmo)? Allegri himself.

If De Winter were to replace Tomori on Sunday, he would likely have the most delicate task: limiting Kenan Yildiz. The coach would always come to the rescue because he is adept at devising defensive strategies.

Either by double-teaming Yildiz or having the defence slide over, the hope is to leave Juve’s Turkish talent as few chances as possible to target his direct opponent one-on-one and wreak havoc. If there’s one coach who knows how to do it, it’s Max, the defensive specialist.