Key Battles and Prediction: Cremonese vs AC Milan

AC Milan travel to face Cremonese tonight as Stefano Pioli needs to motivate the side to kill the game off in the first half. Milan need the new signings and the depth players to turn up in this game as we have two key suspensions. Here are some key battles to look out for:

Key Battles

Central defensive midfielder vs Central midfielder

Brahim Diaz vs Manuel Locatelli

Sandro Tonali vs Soualiho Meite

The game will see familiar face in Soualiho Meite as the former loanee from Torino has found his place at Cremonese. As with the loss against Torino, we need to be careful of former players who seem to be holding a grudge as Pellegri did in that one. Tonali has an important role to break up play in the middle. The midfield battle will be a physical one in this game but having Tonali starting along Bennacer should help with the flow of the ball further up the pitch.

Goalkeeper vs Striker

Ciprian Tatarusanu vs David Okereke

This game will be decided by Tatarusanu. If the keeper can actually stop some shots and not be beaten with the slightest of quality shots we have a chance. The former Venezia striker Okereke will be hunting a second consecutive goal and will likely have enough pace to cause issues for Kjaer. A clean sheet is what is separating us from easy wins in the games against the relegation sides. Cremonese have three draws in their last five games and will be looking to steal those points from us in this one we cannot let this happen as we will lose pace with Napoli at the top of the table.

Striker vs Centre back

Divock Origi vs Matteo Bianchetti

Another important match up will be Origi up against Bianchetti. Origi has not scored since the Monza game despite getting three consecutive starts in the league since. He needs to have more of a presence and take on his chances as we don’t have Giroud to bail in this one. Bianchetti has not been in great form with a couple of poor performances in the previous games as Cremonese have leaked quite a few goals at the back. Origi needs to be thinking about Belgium in the World Cup and he definitely needs to show better form if he wants that call up and to get a start.

Predictions

Tonali Winner

Okereke Winner

Origi Winner