AC Milan will face Juventus on Sunday. Pioli will not have at his disposals the two goalkeepers Maignan and Sportiello for different reasons.
Serie A football returns this weekend after two weeks of international break. AC Milan will host Juventus at San Siro on Sunday. The Rossoneri are currently leading the Serie A standings alone with a two points advantage over Inter. However, AC Milan will face Juventus without the services of a couple important players.
Both Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez are suspended while Samuel Chukwueze suffered an injury on international duty. The situation worsened today after it was confirmed that AC Milan’s second goalkeeper Marco Sportiello has suffered an injury as well (his last injury was 7 years ago). Sportiello will miss the upcoming Juventus match due to a problem on his left calf muscle.
That leaves coach Stefano Pioli with only Antonio Mirante at his disposal. No, Olivier Giroud is not an option because the French star will lead the attack. After three season as part of Milan, Antonio Mirante will make his first minute debut against Juventus. The 40-year-old Italian goalkeeper made only one appearance last season, playing only one minute in the last league match against Hellas Verona. That was the match of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s farewell from football.
Antonio Mirante is an experienced player with past experiences at Roma, Juventus, Bologna and Parma. Nevertheless, his performances in the summer friendly games leave room for great concern. The Italian goalkeeper made many errors, often looking very insecure and like a player ready for retirement.
Pioli has practically decided the starting eleven that will face Juventus. Florenzi will take Theo’s spot in defence alongside Calabria, Thiaw and Tomori. Musah could be confirmed in midfield in place of Loftus-Cheek together with Adli and Reijnders. No changes in attack with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic in support of Olivier Giroud.
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