Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 5/6
Bookmaker: Betfair
AC Milan are set to welcome Torino to the San Siro on Friday evening, for a match which opens the 22nd round of the Serie A roller coaster in the 2022/23 season. Needless to say, both teams need the points on offer here, and with not much between them at the moment, it should be an interesting contest between two opponents of high quality.
AC Milan
They’ve been in the race for a while, but the reigning Italian champions have lost all realistic hope of retaining the title. At the moment, Milan are sixth with 38 points, 18 less than Napoli at the top. At this point, it seems they’re in for a desperate struggle to qualify for the Champions League, with second-place Inter (43), third-place Roma (40), fourth-place Lazio (39) and Atalanta in fifth (38 with a significantly better goal-difference) all ahead.
The existence of problems currently engulfing Milan becomes obvious with one look at their last-six run in all competitions, which doesn’t include a single triumph. Interestingly enough, it began with this very fixture in the Coppa Italia, against Torino at San Siro, which the Rossoneri lost 0-1. After that, they drew 2-2 away to Lecce, lost the Supercoppa Italiana 0-3 to city rivals Inter, got smashed 4-0 away to Lazio and then 2-5 at home against Sassuolo, and eventually lost 1-0 officially away to Inter.
Milan were thoroughly outplayed in that game, with the ball under their control for only 35% of the time, and it was Lautaro Martinez, recently crowned world champion with Argentina, who dealt the blow in the 34th minute.
Coach Stefano Pioli has reportedly found himself under severe pressure to improve his team’s results, or face the prospect of being shown the way out despite leading them to their first Scudetto in over a decade last season. There is definitely a feeling that the next couple of games, including the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash against Tottenham Hotspur next week, could prove decisive for the fate of the 57-year-old.
Team News
Midfielder Ismael Bennacer (thigh), defender Fikayo Tomori (hip) and goalkeeper Mike Maignan (knee) could be ready to face Spurs in a couple of days, but this match definitely comes too early for all three.
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back in contention following an eight-month absence due to an ACL tear, but the Swedish veteran is highly unlikely to start.
Instead, it’ll probably be Olivier Giroud, another veteran, starting upfront, supported by Raphael Leao after Divock Origi’s underwhelming performance in the derby last week. Sandro Tonali should be tasked with keeping the midfield tight, with Rade Krunic and Tommaso Pobega close by, and the pair of Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria in the wing-back roles. The back line of three is expected to include Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu and Matteo Gabia. This match could be the last for a while with Ciprian Tatarusanu in goal, with Maignan so close to returning.
Torino
They may still be behind Milan in the Serie A table, but with their expectations quite different, it has been a very good season for Torino so far. Sometimes finishing in the middle of the table, sometimes fighting to the last whistle for bare survival, they’re now in with a chance of actually making it into one of the European competitions – the two lesser ones, not the Champions League.
At the moment, Torino are directly below Milan in seventh place, though with an eight-point deficit compared to the hosts of this match. Udinese and Bologna are close behind, with one point less than Ivan Juric’s men.
Having taken Milan out of the Coppa with a 0-1 victory at the San Siro, Torino disappointingly lost to Spezia 0-1 at home. They bounced back by beating Fiorentina away by the same result and drew 2-2 away to Empoli. Fiorentina then got their revenge by taking Torino out of the cup, 2-1 at the Artemio Franchi, but Torino ploughed on in the league by beating Udinese 1-0 at home last week.
It was a relatively balanced contest at the Olimpico di Torino, with the only goal being the work of Yann Karamoh four minutes into the second half.
Team News
Midfielder Samuele Ricci (calf), and defenders Valentino Lazaro and David Zima (both knee) will be out for a while yet.
Striker Pietro Pellegri is set to miss on the chance to face his old club due to a thigh problem, which means Antonio Sanabria is likely to lead the line with Karamoh and Aleksei Miranchuk in support. Karol Linetty should pair up with Ronaldo Vieira in the middle of the park, with Ola Aina and Mergim Vojvoda out wide. Perr Schuurs, Alessandro Buongiorno and Ricardo Rodriguez will form the last line of defence in front of goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Conclusion
With everything that has been going on recently, the belief may have wavered when it comes to some of their supporters, but the players probably feel it’s about time for them to step up and give them something to cheer about. A one-goal victory would do.
Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 5/6
Bookmaker: Betfair
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