AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has named his starting line-up for the game against Atalanta at the Gewiss Stadium.
After victories over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League, Empoli in the league and Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia – having scored 12 goals in the process – Milan have some confidence going into the game in Bergamo.
Despite this, everyone is aware that tonight is much different test. Atalanta have won eight in a row and are second in the league, while they are also scoring goals for fun. Thus, it will be a real litmus test.
Paulo Fonseca made eight changes to the line-up for the team that beat Sassuolo, and he has made eight changes again, fully altering the team back to how it was against Empoli.
Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia, Malick Thiaw and Theo Hernandez will be the defensive line ahead of Mike Maignan, then Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana are the double pivot ahead of them.
Yunus Musah should act on the right as the ‘balancer’ that he has been in recent starts. Christian Pulisic will have a free-roaming role behind the striker which will be Alvaro Morata, and then Rafael Leao completes the attack on the left flank.
Official Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Emerson Royal, Thiaw, Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Musah, Pulisic, Leao; Morata.
Bench: Torriani, Sportiello, Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Terracciano, Loftus-Cheek, Chukwueze, Okafor, Abraham, Camarda.
Official Atalanta XI (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Lookman.
Bench: Rui Patricio, Rossi, Kossounou, Godfrey, Scalvini, Toloi, Brescianini, Palestra, Samardzic, Sulemana, Zaniolo, Retegui.
