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AC Milan will take the short hope over to Como on Thursday night, hoping to win and keep the pressure up at the top of the table.
This will be far from an easy game for Milan, who drew their last two fixtures against Genoa and Fiorentina, the teams in 17th and 18th in the table respectively at the time that the matches took place. In both they needed late levellers too, so cracks have appeared.
Not only that, but worries have again emerged about the Rossoneri’s record in terms of points and goals conceded against teams in the bottom half. In fact, of the 15 goals they have let in thus far, 13 have come against the lowest 10 teams.
Opposition insight on Como
By now, everyone is very much aware of the serious project that Como are building under the ownership of the Djarum group. Arguably their best summer business was keeping Cesc Fabregas as head coach, and many tipped them to challenge for the European spots.
Those potentially bullish projections were only bolstered by the summer window, which saw the club by the lake spend over €100m. Jesus Rodriguez joined from Real Betis for €22.5m, Nicolas Kühn from Celtic for €19m and Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb for €18m.
The three headline coups were joined by Jayden Addai from AZ Alkmaar for €14m, Maximo Perrone from Manchester City for €13m and Alex Valle from Barcelona for €6m. Alvaro Morata (from Milan), Nikola Calvin and Stefan Posch also joined on loan.
Some predicted a mass exodus from Como with Fabregas tipped to depart and players like Nico Paz potentially following. Instead, only Gabriel Strefezza left the club who is noteworthy, heading to Olympiacos for €8m. The end result? A window with almost €100m net spend.
The Lariani are sixth in the table and are looking to gatecrash the establishment similar to how Atalanta have done in the past decade. They have won nine of their 19 games, with seven draws and only three defeats. Their 27 goals scored and 13 goals conceded speaks volumes about the dominance of some of their displays.
Como have beaten Lazio and Juventus this season already, while drawing against Atalanta, Napoli and Bologna. They are showing they can mix it with the big boys, while they have won three of their last four, scoring eight goals and conceding one in that run.
The consecutive defeats away from home against Inter (4-0) and Roma (1-0) demonstrate that there is perhaps another level needed before they can truly drop gloves against anyone. Yet, their form suggests they could be a problem for Milan.
Fabregas has four players that are expected to miss the game. The first is defender Edoardo Goldaniga who is day-to-day, as is Milan loanee Alvaro Morata. Assane Diao and Jayden Addai are expected to miss the next few games.
According to the latest from La Gazzetta dello Sport, it is likely to be a 4-2-3-1 system from Fabregas, with Douvikas – on six league goals – leading the line. Nico Paz (12 goal contributions in the league, 6G 6A) will be the playmaker, with Vojvoda to the right and Rodriguez (six assists) to the left.
Da Cunha should be in midfield, the man who scored at San Siro last season, alongside summer signing Perrone who has two league goals and three assists from a deeper role. Smolcic, Kempf, Diego Carlos and Valle are expected to be the back four – statistically the best in the league this season – ahead of Butez in goal.
Predicted Como XI (4-2-3-1): Butez; Smolcic, Kempf, Diego Carlos, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Vojvoda, Paz, Rodriguez; Douvikas.
Predicted Como bench: Vigorito, Cavlina, Ramon, Dossena, Moreno, Caqueret, Roberto, Baturina, Posch, Van der Brempt, Cerri, Kuhn, Le Borgne.
Injured/suspended: Goldaniga (?), Morata (?), Diao, Addai.
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