The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Cagliari

Originally posted on SempreMilan | Last updated 5/11/24

AC Milan will take on Cagliari this evening and after six games without a win, they will be eager to claim all three points. As always, we have picked out a few key battles that could decide the outcome of the game.

Stefano Pioli has decided to make some pretty significant changes to the XI, benching stars such as Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao. As a result, we will get to see some of the reserves in action from the first minute, which is always nice.

The key battles

Starting at the back, from Milan’s perspective, Alessandro Florenzi will be on the left this time out and he will be up against Nahitan Nandez. The Uruguayan works very hard and is clearly physically stronger than the Italian, so it will certainly be an interesting match-up.

On the opposite side of the defence, Pierre Kalulu will finally get the chance from start and he will have to use his pace against Zito Luvumbo. The Angolan international caused a lot of issues in the reverse fixture, scoring a goal, and will need to be stopped tonight.

Further up the pitch, Samuel Chukwueze will be one of the main sources of creative for Milan and it seems likely that Alessandro Deiola will offer the right-back some support. The Nigerian likes to cut inside and that is where the midfielder could come in handy for Cagliari.

Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for Milan against Cagliari two years ago, so this will be a special game for him. He will be up against Yerry Mina, who is very tall, and it might not be the best idea to send a bunch of crosses into the box.

Finally, Christian Pulisic will play in his ‘regular position’ but might struggle against Gabriele Zappa, who is much stronger. The American will thus have to use all of his technique and pace to beat the right-back.

This article first appeared on SempreMilan and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: