The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Hellas Verona | OneFootball

AC Milan welcome Hellas Verona to San Siro tonight as they are back in Serie A action, looking for a response after the midweek defeat to Feyenoord.

The loss in the Champions League left a bitter taste after back-to-back wins over Roma and Empoli, but there is a chance to put things right this evening, with an eye on the fact that Lazio play Napoli and Juventus face Inter.

Verona though are a side once again scrapping to get away from the relegation places and the Rossoneri have already dropped points to sides they should beat on paper, so they will be eager to avoid doing that again.

The five key battles

In truth, this might be the hardest key battles piece that we have had to put together in some time, and largely because there are so many conflicting reports regarding who will start the game for Milan.

One player who does seem locked in is Santiago Giménez. After his goal against Empoli, could become the third player to score in each of his first two Serie A appearances for Milan in the three points for a win era – among those in their debut season in the competition – after Andriy Shevchenko in September 1999 and Christian Pulisic in August 2023.

On the opposite side, the man who should be the anchor of Verona’s three-man defence is Diego Coppola. He is the player with the most interceptions in Serie A this term (48), has played 68 games for Hellas Verona in Serie A. Only Ivan Ilic (72) has played more games for the club in the era of three points for a win before turning 22.

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Moving to the left side, the pressure is really on Theo Hernandez to deliver a performance. It feels like we have picked him out many times already this season as someone who has to raise his level, but with Theo there is talk of a crossroads arriving regarding his future, and Conceicao is yet to see the best of him.

Today is one of the games where he will perhaps have to do more defending that attacking because of the threat of Jackson Tchatchoua. He has two goals and two assists in the league so far this season with his pace and physicality making him a very difficult opponent for most, and a duel that Theo should relish.

Among the players expected to start for Verona tonight, Amin Sarr is the player with the most goals in the league thus far, with three. The 23-year-old Swede has however already shown that he can be a real handful and he should lead the line alongside Tomas Suslov in a 3-4-1-2 formation.

Sarr’s opponent should be Malick Thiaw, who started in the defeat to Feyenoord in midweek and will start again given that Fikayo Tomori will serve a one-match ban. The German was basically a permanent fixture under Paulo Fonseca before he was fired but has not had as many appearances under Conceicao, so he has a point to prove in many ways.

Joao Felix is tipped to start his third game in a row since arriving from Chelsea on deadline day, and after scoring on his debut (off the bench) against Roma at San Siro there will be further hopes that the Portuguese playmaker can make use of the home comforts. He is expected to play in the No.10 role, behind Gimenez.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

That means that Felix is likely to face off against Ondrej Duda, a combative holding midfielder who occupies the double pivot with Cheikh Niasse. Duda already has eight yellow cards in Serie A alone this season which says a lot about his desire not to let opposing attacking midfielders pull the strings, and it is likely he will afford little space or time today.

Finally, we end with another duel in midfield between Youssouf Fofana and Grigoris Kastanos. Fofana’s presence is important for Milan in terms of the balance that he brings and also the creativity given he has chipped in with assists, but the Frenchman has fluctuated in terms of recent performance levels, perhaps due to a bit of fatigue.

With Warren Bondo waiting in the wings ready for his debut, his compatriot will aim to lead by example. Kastanos meanwhile has a couple of goal contributions in seven starts and is expected to play as the attacking midfielder, looking for space between the lines that Fofana and the whole defensive unit will have to deny, especially in transition.