CM: ‘Staking everything’ for Milan – Fonseca’s plan for derby success

With his job on the line, Paulo Fonseca is reportedly ‘staking everything’ in this weekend’s Derby della Madonnina, and whilst reports suggest he may be sacked, earning a win for AC Milan could cause a backtrack.

It is fair to say that Fonseca has not had the best start to Milan life, but he has one final chance to turn things round if reports are to be believed – the derby. Should the Portuguese head coach lead the Rossoneri to victory, he has a chance to keep his job.

However, whether that will be a permanent thing or a temporary hold will remain to be seen. Beating Inter would give him time, if he fails to capitalise on this the same questions would be asked – an all too familiar situation considering last year’s debacle with Stefano Pioli.

This is why, as Calciomercato.com suggest, Fonseca is staking everything during the fixture. Fonseca is ‘playing for Milan’ and he is trying to create an anti-Inter line-up to keep his job.

Currently, there are three decisions to be made, and Fonseca must choose between Davide Calabria and Emerson Royal, then between Matteo Gabbia and one of Fikayo Tomori or Strahinja Pavlovic. In the midfield, there are no ballots. The Portuguese coach is still deciding between Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham, but the Spaniard is currently preferred.