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It is the battle of fourth versus fifth in the Serie A table at the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday night as Udinese host AC Milan.
The home side have started the season very well with seven points from their opening three league games, including a 2-1 victory at San Siro against Inter. They are hoping for a Milanese double, with the Rossoneri coming into the game after consecutive wins over Lecce and Bologna.
There are selection issues and dilemmas for both managers, as we outlined in our preview, while Massimiliano Allegri spoke of this being one of four crucial games in the campaign for the Rossoneri, so he is not under-estimating it.
Udinese vs. Milan: The five key battles
In what is quite a rare occurrence, we can plot the tactical chessboard with two teams that should both play a 3-5-2 (on paper), which certainly facilitates some more direct comparisons between the individuals.
Last weekend, Luka Modric became the oldest midfielder to score a goal in the history of Serie A (40 years and 5 days), surpassing the record of Nils Liedholm (38 years and 169 days) who scored for the Rossoneri against Inter. He remains the man with the keys to the midfield, and as we have seen has the quality and cutting edge to win any game.
While his direct opposite is Karlstrom, it is more likely that the Croatian will face Jakub Piotrowski more, given the former is a defensive midfielder and the latter more of a box-to-box profile. The 27-year-old Pole signed from Ludogorets Razgrad in the summer and has gone straight into Kosta Runjaic’s side, with his energy and physicality a potential disruptor to Modric.
The feeling is that in the battle of three-man defences, the flanks could and will be the key. Udinese boast Kingsley Ehizibue on the right, who will duel with Pervis Estupinan. On the other side, Hassane Kamara should jostle with Alexis Saelemaekers. Whoever comes out on top in the wing-back areas could gain supremacy.
Why is this the case? Well, early-season games tend to be ones decided by moments and phases. Against Bologna, the Rossoneri were good at letting Bologna have the ball but do little with it, then dominating the second half. They must be careful not to over-commit and allow Udinese chance to counter with the explosive wide men, and the same applies the other way too.
For Milan, there are a lot of eyeballs on Santiago Gimenez and for obvious reasons. The Mexican unfortunately has not hit the ground running, with offside goals and big missed chances only serving to add volume to the voices of scepticism following his €35m+ arrival from Feyenoord in the winter. However, Allegri will keep faith in him.
Then comes an interesting sub-plot. Thomas Kristensen – who has been linked with a move to Milan in the past few days – will be the defensive anchor for Udinese, and that means he will be tasked with stopping someone who could become his team-mate in the future. The Dane is big in stature, but it will probably be a two-man job between him and Solet to stop the Gimenez-Pulisic duo up top.
At the other end, Keinan Davis could provide some threat to the Rossoneri. With a goal and an assist so far this season, the Englishman appears to be full of confidence and he certainly despatched his penalty at San Siro against Inter with the kind of composure that suggests he relishes the big occasions.
Matteo Gabbia has a double responsibility on his hands, meanwhile. The Italian will not only be the man in the middle of the defence again, tasked with keeping the run of clean sheets going, but he is also expected to be captain in Mike Maignan’s absence. His leadership and organisation can help Milan through a tough night, on paper.
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