GdS: ‘Obliged to win’ – why Fonseca will change formation again for Milan-Juventus | OneFootball

Given the separation from the pack at the top of the table, Saturday’s game against Juventus is pretty much a must-win for AC Milan, meaning Paulo Fonseca cannot afford to make the wrong decisions.

This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) has a section titled: ‘Obliged to win. An attacking Milan to return to the top. Morata striker, Loftus-Cheek all-rounder. Fonseca changes again: Alvaro in the area, Pavlovic returns to the bench. And Ibra observes’.

The premise is that three points is the only way for the Rossoneri to immediately jump back into the Scudetto discussion, while a defeat would leave them firmly out of the race. That is why Fonseca must prepare for the game meticulously, and he has a plan in mind.

The head coach will have the whole team available only tomorrow, given the amount of players that have been away on international duty, with the last lot of games having been played last night.

What that means is he has just two days to prepare for the arrival of the Bianconeri and study the right tactics to tangle Thiago Motta’s plans. In this sense, Milan could redesign themselves to protect the defence more.

A 4-3-3 is expected at the moment, led by an attacking trio of Christian Pulisic on the right, Rafael Leao on the left and Alvaro Morata down the middle against his former club. Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders would remain in midfield, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek the other mezzala.

The Englishman could also play if Fonseca decided to keep a 4-2-3-1, playing as an attacking midfielder with Pulisic still wide. It is a doubt that Fonseca will only be able to resolve tomorrow when he has everyone available.

In defence, Fikayo Tomori seems certain of a place – and he has scored multiple goals against Juve in the past – while one of Malick Thiaw or Matteo Gabbia will play alongside him. Theo Hernandez and Emerson Royal seem certain to occupy the full-back positions.