AC Milan will face Napoli at San Siro on Sunday and due to Tijjani Reijnders’ suspension, Stefano Pioli will have to make a change to his beloved starting XI. As highlighted by a report this morning, it will be an unprecedented tandem for a new-look Rossoneri.
Pioli has fielded the same starting XI in the last four games but this impressive (?) run will come to an end against Napoli. Reijnders picked up a yellow card against Frosinone and is thus suspended, though Ismael Bennacer is at least back in full swing.
As reported by this morning’s Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), it will be the first time for Milan without Reijnders in a league game this season. Despite the Rossoneri’s big injury struggles, the Dutchman has managed to stay fit throughout, starting every single league game.
Against Napoli, therefore, it will be a new-look Milan in midfield. Not just because Reijnders is missing, but also because Bennacer and Yacine Adli have never started together in the midfield tandem. It’s not completely unprecedented, in fairness, as they have played smaller parts of games together.
Nevertheless, Pioli has clearly opted for quality over muscle here as Yunus Musah also was an option from the first minute. Bennaver is stronger than Adli in the defensive phase, but they are both at their best in the passing sequences and finding ways through with vertical passing.
This means that Milan will have two playmakers, as Gazzetta dello Sport describes them, in the midfield tandem against Napoli. Ruben Loftus-Cheek will thus have a very important role when it comes to the physical battles, and balance overall will be key for the Rossoneri.
The newspaper concludes by saying that Bennacer likely will be the one to combine with Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao, while Adli will sit back more to ensure balance.
