AC Milan vs. Chievo: Key Issues That Will Shape Serie A Game

After starting the season with six points from their first two outings, AC Milan have fallen back to reality by only picking up two points from their last three matches.

A loss against Juventus wasn't really surprising, but drawing back-to-back matches against recently promoted sides like Empoli and Cesena is inexcusable, especially if the club really do have ambitions of getting back into the Champions League.

On Saturday, Filippo Inzaghi's men host another modest side in Chievo Verona at the San Siro. On paper, this should be an easy match for Milan to win, considering the fact that the Rossoneri have never lost to the Flying Donkeys at home.

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Inzaghi has to tinker with his formation to make sure his starting XI doesn't underachieve and picks up the necessary points against very beatable opponents.

The first issue that will shape this Serie A encounter involves the curious case of Stephan El Shaarawy.

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Il Faraone hasn't been fully fit yet. He needs more game time after spending virtually all of last season on the treatment table. The latest report from La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian) states that El Shaarawy is expected to play from the first minute after not featuring at all in Milan's last match against Cesena.

However, the only reason why El Shaarawy could get the nod is because Jeremy Menez picked up a minor injury during training and isn't at his best. If the Frenchman isn't able to go, expect an attacking trident consisting of El Shaarawy, Fernando Torres and Keisuke Honda.

The formation also looks to be changed. In their last match, Inzaghi changed his usual 4-3-3 to a more offensive 4-2-3-1 that had three attacking midfielders in support of Torres, including Giacomo Bonaventura.

It seems that the coach will go back to his usual 4-3-3, the formation he used throughout his time managing Milan's youth setup. 

With this formation, three box-to-box midfielders are used and encouraged to get forward into the box during dangerous opportunities. Nigel de Jong, Andrea Poli and Sulley Muntari are expected to be the three lined up in the center of the park.

Muntari in particular has a lot to prove after a few woeful performances in recent weeks. He opened the season well against Lazio, defending and even getting forward to score a goal. However, he has been incredibly sloppy as of late, giving up possession far too much and putting the defense in an unenviable position.

The defense is another area of worry. Without Daniele Bonera, Inzaghi will most likely go with the center-back pairing of Alex and Adil Rami. Cristian Zapata is serving a suspension from the red card picked up against Cesena.

On paper, one would think that Alex and Rami are the two best defenders to go with. If they perform well, Milan fans have to hope that Inzaghi will finally stick with a pair in what has been a revolving door at the back. It's vital that the primary defensive partnership develops chemistry and helps guide Milan to a better position in the Serie A table.