Yahoo Sports The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Parma
AC Milan are back in Serie A action and have their first early kick-off for a while as they welcome Parma to the San Siro on Sunday.
After Juventus lost to Napoli and Bologna drew with Empoli last night, there is once again the chance to gain ground on the teams immediately above.
Parma at home on paper is a game Milan should be winning, yet too many times this season they have dropped points against lower-ranking sides.
The five key battles
One player who is really in need of a good performance is Theo Hernandez, as his rollercoaster form continues. There is a positive precedent though: only against Venezia (4) has Theo scored more Serie A goals than Parma (3, the same as Torino). With an assist, he would become the first defender to both score and assist three or more goals in each of the last six seasons in the ‘top five’ leagues.
Parma have scored 26 goals so far in Serie A this season, by far the most of any team in the bottom seven places. However, their main threat Dennis Man (four goals, three assists) is not expected to start amid rumours of a move to Fiorentina. Thus, Theo will come up against Pontus Almqvist, a 25-year-old Swedish winger who has one goal and one assist in five league starts.
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At the other end, a man who could really do with a goal is Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard has struggled to score consistently all season and while he contributes off the ball and in build-up (sometimes), there is the added pressure of the rumours about Santiago Gimenez’s arrival. He must prove he is worth his starting spot, because if Tammy Abraham doesn’t take it then a new signing might.
Parma meanwhile are expected to field a relatively new centre-back pairing of Lautaro Valenti and Alessandro Vogliacco, who have only five starts combined this season. It is likely to be the Argentina who takes on the responsibility of thwarting Morata, playing on the left side which matches up with the striker’s favoured right foot.
Christian Pulisic‘s return to the starting line-up – if confirmed as expected – will be a big boost for Milan. Without him in the side the attack lacks balance and a bit of technical quality in the final third, as shown by the fact that he has 17 goal contributions in 25 games this season, with 10 of them being goals.
He should come up against the left-back Emanuele Valeri, someone that Milan have been linked with as a potential deputy to Theo. The Italian is 26 years of age and has started in 17 of his 18 appearances, even racking up one goal and two assists to show that his attacking contribution must be watched out for too.
Moving into the midfield, Youssouf Fofana is currently expected to start alongside Ismael Bennacer in the double pivot. For the Frenchman, the most important thing might actually be not getting a yellow card, given that he would miss the derby against Inter due to suspension if he were to pick one up.
He faces a tough battle too against Parma’s playmaker Hernani. Only Man and Ange-Yoan Bonny have more goal contributions than the Brazilian (four, including three goals) and he has got them in just 874 minutes of action.
Parma will showcase their new signing Milan Djuric who is expected to start up front, and he has played against Milan eight times already in his career. The veteran centre-forward has scored one and has two assists, with the goal coming during a 2-2 draw when he was at Salernitana.
Given the size and physicality of the Bosnian, it is likely that Strahinja Pavlovic will be the one who takes on dealing with the 34-year-old. Amid rumours that the Serbian could still leave the club before the window ends, he will want to show Sergio Conceicao he deserves a starting spot on a regular basis at the club he joined only a few months ago.
