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

AC Milan have once again found themselves in a crisis after three straight defeats, and the only way to stop the bleeding is with a win over Lecce.

It will not be an easy game at the Stadio Via del Mare, both because of the chaos that surrounds Milan at the moment and because Lecce are in a relegation battle so they are scrapping for every point.

Speaking at his press conference yesterday, Sergio Conceicao highlighted that it’s been a very good week of training at Milanello, and so fans expect this to be translated into a good performance on the field.

The five key battles

The outcome of the game will be heavily influenced by some key duels across the field, starting with Federico Baschirotto against Tammy Abraham. The Italian centre-back is in his third year with Lecce now and possesses a powerful physique plus excellent aerial ability, so he will certainly be up for the scrap.

Abraham meanwhile is tipped to get a rare start since the arrival of Santiago Gimenez. The Englishman is aiming to prove that he deserves a permanent stay at the club given he is on loan from Roma, the club he last scored against (a brace in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals last month).

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Up at the other end, Lecce’s main threat is definitely Nikola Krstovic. The Montenegrin striker has scored seven times in the league this season out of their total 18 goals, while adding three assists, so he has contributed to over half of the tally.

He was actually linked with a move to Milan in January and earlier in the week too so it will be a chance to get an up-close look at him. Matteo Gabbia should be his opponent, and he is aiming for a big performance after his agent spoke out about his treatment just a few days ago.

Moving to the midfield, there will be a fascinating duel between Porir Helgason and Warren Bondo. The Icelandic international has established himself as the left mezzala under Marco Giampaolo in a 4-3-3 and will hope to add to his tally of one assist for the season in the league.

Bondo meanwhile arrived during the winter mercato and is yet to start a game for the Rossoneri. Granted, he arrived with a physical problem, but there remains a bit of mystery regarding his lack of usage and today will be a good chance to showcase what he can bring.

The other threat that Lecce have going forward is Santiago Pierotti. The Argentine winger has four goals and two assists meaning he has contributed to one third of Lecce’s goals in Serie A, meaning it really is his show along with Krstovic.

Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images

This evening he will face off against Theo Hernandez, who is being tipped to keep his place in the side despite his poor recent form and speculation swirling regarding his future. If Theo is to earn the renewal he apparently wants, his performances simply must improve and at both ends.

Finally, we end with the battle between Balthazar Pierret and Christian Pulisic. The Frenchman has become the anchorman of the three-man midfield for the Giallorossi and will sit between Helgason and Coulibaly as the deep-lying playmaker.

However, his focus will be more on limiting Pulisic’s influence, given that the American is currently expected to start in the role of central attacking midfielder over Joao Felix and Tijjani Reijnders. He has 12 goals and nine assists in 36 games (all competitions) so far this season.