Milan Lab confirms: Andre Silva is fine, it’s time to launch him
All the rumors circulating today offer Andre Silva as the starter attacker in Udinese-Milan. The time has come for the Portuguese striker, who will start for the first time under Gennaro Gattuso in the league.
Il Corriere della Sera writes today that the data of Milan Lab (“Now we are more efficient in analyzing data”, declared chief medical officer Daniele Tognaccini for the Fifa magazine) say that the Portuguese is particularly well. It is the right moment to give confidence to the Rossoneri number 9 who is still looking for his first goal in Serie A. It is an important opportunity for him, who so far has found little space with Gattuso on the bench.
The boss has called up 23 players for the match against the Bianconeri
Before the team departure to Friuli, coach Gattuso has named the 23-man squad for Sunday’s Serie A Matchday 23 against Udinese at the Dacia Arena (kick-off at 3.00 PM). Here is the list in full:
DEFENDERS: Abate, Antonelli, Bellanova, Bonucci, Calabria, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Zapata
MIDFIELDERS: Biglia, Bonaventura, Calhanoglu, Kessie, Locatelli, Mauri, Montolivo
FORWARDS: Borini, Cutrone, Kalinic, André Silva, Suso.
Gazzetta: Andre Silva from the start
Most likely Giacomo Bonaventura will return in midfield with the inclusion of Hakan Calhanoglu as left winger. But the real doubts are all for the role of the centre forward: according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, mister Gattuso should finally focus on Andre Silva, who was used with the eleven players expected to start tomorrow in the last training sessions. The Portuguese number 9 should have his much desired chance in the league, preferred to the disappointing Kalinic and Cutrone who is ready to make his entrance with the match in progress. It will be up to the second most expensive player of Milan to lead the attack and prove he is really worth the investment made.
A win to break a 4 year record
Beating Lazio in Sunday’s challenge at San Siro allowed AC Milan to grab the third consecutive victory in the league that was missing from March 2017, when the Rossoneri overcame Fiorentina, Sassuolo and Chievo. But a win against Udinese, would mean breaking a 4 year sanding negative record. Four consecutive victories date back almost four years ago. On that occasion the AC Milan squad led by Seedorf won five games in a row, beating Fiorentina, Chievo, Genoa, Catania and Livorno.
Tuttosport: Two options to replace Ricardo Rodriguez
According to Tuttosport, Gattuso seems to be considering two hypotheses. The first involves the use of Antonelli on the left with Davide Calabria, who would return to the right. The second options is the deployment of Calabria on the left with Ignazio Abate again confirmed on the right after his start in Coppa Italia’s Milan-Lazio match. These at the moment seem to be the options assessed by the coach.
Obviously Borini will work to try to convince the coach, even though his use in the role of left-back requires time and in a difficult game like that against Udinese it would be perhaps too risky to confirm him despite the fact that Borini offered a much better appearance on the left than Antonelli. However Gattuso doesn’t want to experiment in such an important meeting.
Ricardo Rodriguez to miss Udinese clash
After missing the first match against Lazio due to suspension Ricardo Rodriguez was forced to miss even the Coppa Italia meeting between the two teams. The the left back’s misfortune does not stop here, his health issues are a bit more troubling than expected so the Swiss 25 year old defender will be absent in AC Milan’s next match with Udinese. The decision was confirmed today by club doctor Melegati.
It’s yet unclear what kind of solution will coach Gattuso use to replace Rodriguez. In the last match in Serie A it was Lucas Antonelli to start on the left while in the Italian Cup the coach opted for a rather different solution deploying Fabio Borini as full back. Both players disappointed, demonstrating once more the importance of Rodriguez for the squad.
