AC Milan will be desperate to bounce back to winning ways when they welcome Torino to San Siro on Friday.
Matchday 22 of the 2022/23 Serie A season begins on Friday. And defending champions AC Milan will kick-start the latest round of fixtures when they lock horns with Torino at San Siro, hoping to end the disastrous run of form since the campaign restarted.
AC Milan went into the mid-season World Cup-induced break with table-toppers Napoli in sight in the Serie A standings. And they restarted their campaign with a 2-1 win over Salernitana. But Stefano Pioli’s men have not won a game since then, with the winless run stretching to seven matches. In addition, they have lost their last four outings, dropping to sixth on the table.
On the other hand, Torino handed AC Milan one of the defeats in the recent seven-game winless run, sending the Rossoneri out of the Coppa Italia. And the Maroons have been rising through the standings since the campaign restarted, losing just one league game. Such a run has left Il Toro in the seventh spot, eight points behind the hosts.
The two clashes featuring AC Milan and Torino this season have seen the Granata clinch a one-goal win in each fixture. And The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
AC Milan
🗣️ Pioli: “A new season starts tomorrow, let's get back on track"
🗣️ Il Mister: "Domani inizia un nuovo campionato, riprendiamo con entusiasmo"#MilanTorino #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/zty0VXbAA5
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 9, 2023
Stefano Pioli has seen his squad’s roster issues ease considerably in the last few weeks. But the AC Milan manager will remain without a few pivotal players against Torino on Friday, with four squad members unavailable.
Mike Maignan (calf), Fikayo Tomori (thigh), Alessandro Florenzi (hamstring), and Ismael Bennacer (thigh) remain on the sidelines. But Zlatan Ibrahimovic has resumed training and is closing in on returning to action soon.
However, the Swede might not be fit enough to feature for AC Milan yet. So Olivier Giroud will spearhead the attack against Torino on Friday. And Rafael Leao should join the Frenchman in the final third, with Brahim Diaz playing behind them.
Stefano Pioli will persist with a 3-4-1-2 formation again, looking to see his charges acclimatise to the new system. And Ciprian Tatarusanu will continue to deputise for the injured Maignan between the sticks.
Malick Thiaw will likely pip Matteo Gabbia to be Pierre Kalulu and Simon Kjaer’s partner in the central defensive unit. Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez pick themselves as the two wing-backs. Finally, Tommaso Pobega should join Sandro Tonali in the middle of the park.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Kjaer, Thiaw; Calabria, Pobega, Tonali, Hernandez; Diaz; Leao, Giroud
Torino
Unlike his counterpart in the AC Milan dugout, Ivan Juric barely has any fitness issues hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to San Siro. On Friday, the Torino manager will be bereft of the services of two first-team players.
David Zima and Valentino Lazaro remain on the sidelines due to their respective knee injuries. Otherwise, Juric has a full-strength squad to take to Milan this week and will name a strong starting eleven.
🎙️ | CONFERENZA
Juric: "Sarà una partita intensa, come in Coppa"
👉 https://t.co/gSkESsakGj#SFT | #MilanTorino pic.twitter.com/y1HT9MXbmy
— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC_1906) February 9, 2023
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic picks himself between the sticks, with Torino lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him. Perr Schuurs, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Ricardo Rodriguez will likely form the central defensive unit.
Ola Aina failed to secure a move in the January transfer window and remains the right wing-back for Torino. Mergim Vojvoda should be the left wing-back, with the wide duo flanking Karol Linetty and Ronaldo Vieira in the middle of the park.]
Nikola Vlasic has excelled for Torino since arriving from West Ham United in the summer. And the Croat will join Aleksei Miranchuk and Antonio Sanabria in the final third, with the latter leading the line for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Schuurs, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Aina, Linetty, Vieira, Vojvoda; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria
Key Stats
- Torino have won just three of their last 30 Serie A meetings with AC Milan (D12 L15), including their last one in October. They could win both top-flight games against the Rossoneri in a season for the first time since 1984/85.
- AC Milan are unbeaten in their last 26 Serie A home games against Torino, picking up 18 wins and eight draws. Their last such defeat was back in March 1985 (1-0 thanks to Walter Schachner’s goal).
- AC Milan have lost their last four matches in all competitions. They have never lost five games in a row within a single season since 1929/30.
- Ante Rebic has scored more Serie A goals against Torino than any opponent, scoring five such goals against the Granata, including his very first strike (May 2014 for Fiorentina) and his only hat-trick (May 2021 for AC Milan) in the competition.
- Antonio Sanabria has scored the most Serie A goals this season without one coming at home, with each of his four goals in the competition this term coming in away games so far.
Player to Watch
Rafael Leao
Leao has seen his campaign somewhat spiral after being the AC Milan talisman for a long time. No longer is the Portuguese international one of the first names on the team sheet. And his sub-par displays have forced Stefano Pioli to relegate him to the bench.
Meanwhile, Leao remains a popular figure in the market, with Manchester City keen on signing him. However, the 23-year-old will be focused on the job at hand this season. And with AC Milan struggling to win games, Leao is Pioli’s best bet to script a turnaround in form and fortunes.
Prediction
AC Milan 2-2 Torino
Torino will have a rare opportunity to complete the double against AC Milan in Serie A. In addition, the visitors also have the chance to stun the Rossoneri thrice this season, which might have been unheard of before this season. But Milan’s levels have plummeted considerably.
The defenders are not performing to their potential, while the attackers are floundering. The struggles might continue on Friday, but the hosts should produce enough quality to earn a point. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw between AC Milan and Torino this week.
