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AC Milan make the trip to Turin to face Torino on Monday night, hoping to overturn what is a dreadful recent record in this fixture.
Milan have won only one of their last 12 away league games against the Granata, and that was a 0-7 victory back in May 2021. Not only that, but they come into the game off the back of a second defeat of the campaign, having lost in the Coppa Italia last-16 to Lazio on Thursday.
However, they still have a 12-game unbeaten run in the league going, and will be hoping to retake top spot with three points. Christian Pulisic’s participation remains up in the air, while Santiago Gimenez, Youssouf Fofana and Zachary Athekame are all definitely out.
Torino vs. Milan: Five key battles
What makes matters easier is that both Massimiliano Allegri and Marco Baroni are expected to line up in a 3-5-2 system, which means more direct player battles across the park. It starts in the midfield where there will be a duel between two friends and team-mates at international level: Nikola Vlasic and Luka Modric.
Modric’s importance to Milan needs no explanation as he has become arguably the most crucial cog in the team, with the lack of creativity evident in the defeat to Lazio. Vlasic is an opponent he knows well, and he has a couple of goal contributions for Torino this season, and he has won in three of five games against the Rossoneri, with one assist in that span.
On the left side, there will be an intriguing contest between Marcus Pedersen and Davide Bartesaghi. The former signed permanently in the summer from Feyenoord and has made nine starts under Baroni, establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet in the right wing-back role.
Bartesaghi meanwhile came on for the final part of the defeat to Lazio on Thursday with Pervis Estupinan having been given a chance. The Italian’s return is a welcome one, as he has been consistently solid since his introduction to the line-up, with his work at both ends of the field.
In the absence of Giovanni Simeone, Che Adams will be the one tasked with leading the line for Torino. The Scotland international has netted three times in the league and has the opportunity to match or even overtake Il Toro’s top scorer (Simeone, on four goals) when he faces Milan this evening.
On the flip side will be Fikayo Tomori, someone Adams has faced at Championship level (while at Birmingham) as well as in the Premier League (for Southampton) and in Italy (last season, having just joined Torino). Tomori has been in exceptional form this season, and will need to continue that to keep the hosts at bay.
At the other end, Rafael Leao will again be tasked with being the man leading the line for Milan given Pulisic’s probable absence and Christopher Nkunku’s lack of form. The Portuguese’s record against Torino is eight wins, two draws and five losses in 15 appearances, and four assists in that stretch.
However, one area where Leao has struggled against the Turin-based club is scoring, with just one goal to his name in those 15 games. His opponent tonight will be Adrien Tameze, an athletic and powerful centre-back that will certainly rise to the physical battle, so Leao’s movement and ability to take any chances that present themselves could be decisive.
Finally, we end with the battle between two coaches who have quite contrasting narratives coming into this one. Marco Baroni is believed to be under pressure because his side have not won a game since the end of October, when they beat Genoa 2-1 at home. Since them, they have drawn with Bologna, Pisa and Juventus, before losing their last two games to Como (5-1) and Lecce.
Without Allegri due to suspension, his assistant Marco Landucci will lead the team again. It has already happened three times before this season, first against Bari in the Coppa Italia, then against Udinese in the league, and finally against Lecce in the Coppa Italia. The record? Three wins, eight goals scored and zero goals conceded. Not bad.
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