At 01:00 a.m. Beijing time on December 31, the 18th round of Serie A will stage a focus of attention, with the Rossoneri AC Milan hosting Sassuolo, a mid-to-lower Serie A team.
This season, AC Milan's state has been up and down, after the first 17 rounds, they have 10 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, accumulating 33 points, although they are still ranked 3rd in Serie A, but they are 11 points away from the top Inter Milan. In order to reverse the decline as soon as possible and close the points gap with the top Inter Milan, AC Milan will definitely go all out to treat every game next.
Opponents Sassuolo are AC Milan's nemesis team despite being in the bottom half of Serie A. The data shows that in the last 5 meetings between the two sides, AC Milan only achieved a poor record of 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses, and in the last meeting, AC Milan was slaughtered by Sassuolo 2:5, and was at a significant psychological disadvantage. Therefore, in this encounter, AC Milan must be prepared for a tough battle in advance. Here's a quick look at the starting line-up that coach Stefano Pioli is likely to field.
In the goalkeeper position, it is natural that the main goalkeeper Maignan guards the AC Milan goal, and at the back, it is not surprising that Pioli will continue to play a more secure back four formation, and the four defenders who are likely to start are Theo Hernandez, Kjaer, Jan Carlo Simic and Calabria. In the case of Fikayo Tomori's injury, the talented youngster Jan Carlo Simic can only be called on to form a double centre-back combination with Kjaer, and on the left and right, it is naturally the strongest configuration of Theo Hernandez and Calabria.
In terms of midfield, there is no doubt that the main midfielder responsible for interceptions and tackles in the AC Milan midfield will still be the new Dutch midfielder Reinders, and the partner of Reinders to form a double midfield combination should be Algerian fierce Bennacer. Ahead of the back two, former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to remain in charge of the attack, strategizing and organising Milan's attacking line, while the two aces who form the line of attack will be US captain Christian Pulisic and Portuguese striker Rafael Leao.
On the forward line, it is not surprising that Giroud is still the leading striker Giroud in the front court to attack the city for AC Milan and destroy the city. The final 11 expected to start AC Milan against Sassuolo are: Maignan, Theo Hernandez, Kjaer, Jan Carlo Simic, Calabria, Reinders, Bennacer, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud