AC Milan face a trip to Cagliari on Sunday night hoping to pick up from where they left off against Roma prior to the international break.
Gennaro Gattuso’s men bounced back from their disappointment in losing to Napoli in their season opener to secure all three points against Eusebio Di Francesco’s men in a thrilling encounter at the San Siro.
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Naturally, they’ll hope that was the catalyst to get them going this season as they go in pursuit of qualification for the Champions League.
On paper, they do now have a favourable run of fixtures after such a difficult start, but of course they must guard against any complacency as they look to climb the table and put pressure on their rivals for a top-four finish in Serie A.
As per Calciomercato, the possible changes that Gattuso could opt to make after testing them in training are bringing in Diego Laxalt and Mattia Caldara for Ricardo Rodriguez and Mateo Musacchio respectively.
An argument could be made that they shouldn’t change anything unless forced to given their impressive display against Roma, and so it remains to be seen if the Milan boss goes with the same XI rather than reshuffling his backline.
It will be frustrating for summer signing Caldara in particular though, as he was widely expected to begin forming a crucial partnership with captain Alessio Romagnoli in the heart of the defence immediately.
One player who is expected to be absent is Patrick Cutrone, with Sky Sport Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reporting on the injury that he picked up while with Italy U21s during the break.
That could be an issue for Gattuso as he’s already light in that department, and so he’ll be hoping that Higuain comes through unscathed and can get off the mark for the club to ensure that Cutrone’s absence isn’t felt.
Given the youngster scored that late dramatic winner against Roma last time out, not having him as an option off the bench will be a blow for the Rossoneri, but time will tell if they can pick up all three points regardless.
Probable AC Milan XI (4-3-3-): Donnarumma; Calabria, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Rodriguez; Kessie, Biglia, Bonaventura, Suso, Higuain , Calhanoglu.
via Corriere dello Sport.