The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Torino | OneFootball

AC Milan will play their final away game of the 2023-24 season tonight against Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, and they will hope to carry on from last weekend’s hammering of Cagliari.

It is looking like it will be Stefano Pioli’s penultimate game as the head coach of Milan and he is expected to use the opportunity to take a look at some players who have not been regular starters this season, with an interesting line-up predicted.

The outcome of the game – which is last chance saloon for Torino in their European hopes – will be heavily influenced by some key battles across the pitch, starting with the one between Ricardo Rodriguez and Christian Pulisic.

Pulisic has been involved in 19 goals in 34 appearances in the current league season (12 goals and seven assists) showing just how important he has been, and he comes up against the left-sided centre-back Ricardo Rodriguez, who was at Milan from 2017 to 2020.

Sticking with the Milan attack, there will be an interesting duel between Alessandro Buongiorno and Luka Jovic. It could be an audition of sorts for both players, given that the former has been mentioned as a leading target for the centre-back role for Milan in view of the summer.

Meanwhile, Jovic should be given the chance to lead the line and he is hoping to earn a new contract given that his expires at the end of next month. The signs point towards him staying given he has nine goals this season despite mostly being a bench option, but a goal or two could help make sure.

The star of the Torino midfield is Samuele Ricci, who the Rossoneri have been heavily linked with during the past few years. Whilst normally deployed as a deeper midfielder, Juric has experimented with the Italian in a more advanced role.

That means that he will come up against someone who usually plays further forward but will start at the base of the midfield: Tijjani Reijnders. Having been named in the provisional Netherlands squad for Euro 2024 and with that long-range striker against Cagliari fresh in the memory, the Dutchman will be full of confidence.

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Given that he is now 33 years of age it feels right to call Duvan Zapata a Serie A veteran, and he has provided some valuable contributions for Ivan Juric’s team this season having scored 12 times in the league.

He has been playing mostly in a front two, and tonight he should come up against Malick Thiaw. The general consensus is that the German is still finding his form again after a long injury lay-off, and with speculation about a possible sale this summer he will want to show that he can be a bedrock for the defence moving forward.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing for Milan fans to look out for is how Filippo Terracciano does on the left side of the back four, presuming that he does indeed start there. If he does, he will come up against the ex-Milan defender Raoul Bellanova.

Having joined Torino from Inter, the 24-year-old has found a role for himself at right wing-back and he has seven goal contributions this season including six assists. His propensity to cover the entire flank will cause issues for Milan, while he will also help Tameze – a converted midfielder – double up on Okafor.