Key Battles and Prediction: AC Milan vs Sampdoria

AC Milan play Sampdoria tomorrow morning as the side look to close the gap at the top of the table. Milan need to remain focused following their two big wins and not drop points when they face a former manager and former player against recovering Sampdoria. Ibrahimovic and Hernandez will not be available but Rebic and Tomori look set to play a key role.

Key Battles

Right winger vs Left back

Antonio Candreva vs Alessandro Florenzi

Candreva was our biggest issue in the first game and will certainly be a nuisance again with his runs down the wing and deep crosses. Milan will also be playing a not traditional left back in there with Hernandez suspended and Ballo-Toure still not at 100%. Florenzi has one job tomorrow, stand strong in defence shutting out the advancing Candreva and Conti.

Manager vs Manager

Marco Giampaolo vs Stefano Pioli

Giampaolo returns to face his replacement at Milan. The manager will be looking at this as a prime opportunity to cause an upset especially since both Inter Milan and Napoli dropped points tonight. Pioli needs to be dynamic in his approach to this game as the reverse fixture was complicated and we were slightly lucky with that 1-0 win.

Right back vs Left winger

Andrea Conti vs Rafael Leao

Conti returning to the San Siro so soon as an opponent has the potential to sting us. He has started off really well with Sampdoria and already has a goal which should have his confidence up. The right back also gets to face his competitors in Florenzi and Calabria simultaneously hence he will know their strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, this is a good opportunity for Leao to exploit Conti on that wing with his pace and ability to cut in to give us an edge at goal.

Predictions

Candreva Winner

Pioli Winner

Leao Winner