AC Milan vs. Perugia: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
It has been a long time since Milan entered the Coppa Italia at the third-round stage, but this is what they must do on Monday when they take on Perugia at San Siro in their first competitive match of the 2015/16 season.
The Rossoneri finished 10th in Serie A last season, their lowest league position for 16 years, and thus must face an early Coppa Italia challenge. Usually, they would join the competition in January.
This is the price the club must pay for a poor season, but with a new coach and multiple new players, this cup clash could come as a welcome opportunity to forge cohesion ahead of a difficult Serie A opener away to Fiorentina on Sunday, Aug. 23.
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Perugia are solid Serie B opposition, having finished sixth in Italy's second tier last season before losing out in the first round of play-offs to Pescara. Since then the Grifoni have appointed former player Pierpaolo Bisoli—the man who as recently as 2014 steered Cesena to Serie A—as coach.
Perugia will travel to Milan as rightful underdogs, but they represent a live test for a Milan side that are jelling with each game they play. The winner will play Crotone in the next round.
Sinisa Mihajlovic sees this match as a chance for further integration and has expressed in no uncertain terms that he wants his side to win, and win well. Per Football Italia, in his pre-match press conference, he asserted:
"Tomorrow the new season begins, so it's not enough just to look good...I want an aggressive team which makes as few mistakes as possible. We want to win the (Coppa Italia), especially this year as we're not in Europe...We have to get used to being favourites against every team we play. When you're in that position, you have to get out on that pitch, play well and win.
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Mihajlovic desperately wants to begin his competitive Milan tenure with a victory in order to build confidence among the players and fans and establish some momentum with which to enter the league campaign. As such, defeat to Perugia is unthinkable.
Date: Monday, Aug. 17, 2015
Kick-Off: 8 p.m. GMT
Venue: San Siro
TV Listings: Rai Tre (Italy)
Live Stream: Not available
Form Guide
AC Milan 1-1 Sassuolo (TIM Trophy friendly tournament) NB - Milan won 4-3 on penalties
AC Milan 2-1 Internazionale (TIM Trophy friendly tournament)
Tottenham 2-0 AC Milan (Audi Cup friendly tournament)
Bayern Munich 3-0 AC Milan (Audi Cup friendly tournament)
Real Madrid 0-0 AC Milan (International Champions Cup friendly tournament) NB - Milan lost 10-9 on penalties
Perugia 3-1 Reggiana (Coppa Italia second round)
Perugia 1-0 Bari 1908 (Friendly)
Perugia 1-0 Carpi (Friendly)
Perugia 4-1 Fermana (Friendly)
Perugia 2-0 Maceratese (Friendly)
Team News and Predicted Formations
During his press conference, Mihajlovic also made clear the central defensive partnership he would be opting for, stating that Rodrigo Ely and Alessio Romagnoli would play together at the heart of his backline.
Throughout pre-season, the recently installed Milan coach has tried to implement roughly the same tactics he utilised so effectively with Sampdoria: a 4-3-1-2 with a midfield diamond.
In his press conference, he talked of playing the "best Milan possible." That almost certainly means Diego Lopez starting in goal, Luca Antonelli on the left of the back four, Nigel De Jong as the enforcer and Andrea Bertolacci in central midfield, with Carlos Bacca up front.
Recent injury to M'Baye Niang rules him out, so Luiz Adriano could get the chance to work on his strike partnership with Bacca.
There are doubts as to who will start elsewhere. At right-back it is unclear if the more experienced Ignazio Abate will get the nod over Mattia De Sciglio, while question marks remain over how the midfield will look with Giacomo Bonaventura and Keisuke Honda battling for the trequartista role. Honda may just have the edge there, forcing Bonaventura to play in a more withdrawn central role alongside Bertolacci.
AC Milan (4-3-1-2): Diego Lopez; Ignazio Abate, Rodrigo Ely, Alessio Romagnoli, Luca Antonelli; Andrea Bertolacci, Nigel De Jong, Giacomo Bonaventura; Keisuke Honda; Luiz Adriano, Carlos Bacca
Perugia (4-2-3-1): Antonio Rosati; Gianluca Comotto, Gianluca Mancini, Marco Rossi, Masahudu Alhassan; Giuseppe Rizzo, Amidu Salifu; Davide Lanzafame, Samuel Di Carmine, Fabinho; Matteo Ardemagni
Player to Watch
After finally joining from Roma, Alessio Romagnoli took part in the TIM Trophy as Milan beat Inter and drew with Sassuolo (before winning on penalties) to win the pre-season tournament.
A talented young central defender, Romagnoli could turn out to be Milan's most important summer acquisition. He worked with Mihajlovic while on loan at Sampdoria last season and will be keen to make a positive start to life with his new club.
Assured in the tackle with good timing, positioning and a capability to play the ball out from the back, he will be integral to Milan's fortunes this season. The club has been lacking authority and composure at the back for a long time, and he could be just the tonic to solve those issues.
He won't have it easy on his competitive debut in red and black. His opposite man, Perugia striker Matteo Ardemagni, scored twice against Reggiana in his team's 3-1 victory in the last round of the cup, and he will no doubt be looking to ruffle the young defender's feathers.
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