Things are looking up for Milan again.

After years of mediocrity, months of uncertainty and weeks of bedding in new players, the Rossoneri are thinking positively. The last fortnight has witnessed improved performances thanks to revised team selections and coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s tactical schemes beginning to take effect.

A 1-0 defeat to city rivals Inter Milan was taken on the chin, with fans enthused by the overall display of the team in spite of the result. Mihajlovic was himself pleased, confidently assessing post-match that he had found “his team,” according to Sky Sports (h/t Football Italia). That was followed by a 3-2 home victory over Palermo on Saturday night.

The win over Palermo had its ups and downs. Milan conceded two equalisers before finally sealing the three points courtesy of a Carlos Bacca header, but while Milan were far from perfect, the win is in itself a sign of progress, as it was the type of game they would have blown last season.

With more of a spring in their step, Milan will now travel east to face Udinese at their newly refurbished Stadio Friuli home. The Zebrette are proud of their new-look stadium but have yet to achieve league success there; so far this season, they have lost both of their home games against Palermo and Empoli.

Having begun their campaign with a surprise 1-0 away win over champions Juventus, Stefano Colantuono’s side have lost three successive Serie A matches to find themselves in 16th place. While Milan have improved in recent weeks, Udinese have fallen off the pace.

And so it is with vastly contrasting moods that Milan and Udinese meet, with the former aiming to take another step forward on the road to redemption and the latter hoping to halt a steep decline.

 

Date: Tuesday 22 September

Time: 19:45 BST/2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy

TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK)

Live Stream: Not Available

 

Form Guide

Udinese 1-2 Empoli

Lazio 2-0 Udinese

Udinese 0-1 Palermo

Juventus 0-1 Udinese

Udinese 3-1 Novara (Coppa Italia)

 

Milan 3-2 Palermo

Inter 1-0 Milan

Mantova 2-3 Milan (friendly)

Milan 2-1 Empoli

Fiorentina 2-0 Milan

 

Team News and Predicted Formations

Udinese will be without Panagiotis Kone after the Greek midfielder was sent off for two yellow cards in their weekend defeat to Empoli.

With Kone absent, Colantuono may well bring talented young Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes back into the fray. Fernandes is a more attacking choice but could provide good energy and creativity to an otherwise staid midfield.

French central defender Thomas Heurtaux could also return to the starting lineup after an unsteady performance from Molla Wague against Empoli, while further forward Udinese have a dilemma as to who to start up front.

Antonio Di Natale is a legend, but his ageing legs are not always the optimum choice on a counter-attacking team. A more viable attacking duet could see powerful Colombian Duvan Zapata, on loan from Napoli, paired with Cyril Thereau, the man who put Juventus to the sword in the first week of this season.

Mihajlovic has fewer selection concerns, with most of his headaches likely to be of the positive variety. Up front, he must decide whether to rest one of Carlos Bacca or Luiz Adriano and bring in Mario Balotelli, while the likes of Luca Antonelli and Andrea Bertolacci could be available again after injury.

Ignazio Abate suffered a knock against Palermo before being substituted early on and thus may be a doubt for this game. If that is the case, there is immediate space for Antonelli to come back in on the left, while Mattia De Sciglio returns to the right. If not, 18-year-old Davide Calabria made a good impression from the bench against Palermo and could be used again.

Bertolacci is less likely to return to the lineup, even if fit. In his absence, Juraj Kucka and Giacomo Bonaventura have played well in the centre of Milan’s midfield diamond, providing a combination of dogged persistence and creativity.

Udinese (3-5-2): Orestis Karnezis, Thomas Heurtaux, Danilo, Ivan Piris; Edenilson, Manuel Iturra, Bruno Fernandes, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ali Adnan; Antonio Di Natale, Duvan Zapata

Milan (4-3-1-2): Diego Lopez, Ignazio Abate, Cristian Zapata, Alessio Romagnoli, Mattia De Sciglio; Juraj Kucka, Riccardo Montolivo, Giacomo Bonaventura; Keisuke Honda; Luiz Adriano, Carlos Bacca

 

Players to Watch

Ali Adnan (Udinese)

Iraqi left wing-back Ali Adnan arrived at Udinese in the summer, in doing so becoming the latest player to benefit from the club’s extensive scouting network. At 21 years old, he came with a reputation as a promising talent and so far has lived up to expectations.

WhoScored.com rate him as Udinese’s best player so far this season, with his attacking intent particularly noteworthy; none of Adnan’s teammates have come close to his 2.5 completed dribbles per match, and his 2.5 key passes per game are also unrivalled.

The statistics are an indication of what Adnan provides to Udinese. His attacking forays down the left side are an important component in Colantuono’s 3-5-2 system, and he will have to be watched closely by Mihajlovic‘s right-back.

 

Riccardo Montolivo (Milan)

At the start of this season, Riccardo Montolivo’s future seemed unsure. It was rumoured that he was not seeing eye-to-eye with Mihajlovic after being left out of Milan’s opening league game away to Fiorentina, as Sacha Pisani reported for Goal.com.

There seemed to be no place for him in the team, though now, after being given a chance against Inter, Montolivo looks like an integral piece in Mihajlovic’s midfield puzzle.

The turnaround has been quick and fairly unexpected. Nigel de Jong began the season as Milan’s midfield enforcer of choice, but after the opening two league games in which a lack of control was evident, he was dropped in favour of Montolivo for the Derby della Madonnina.

Montolivo put in an assured performance to make sure that when it came to picking the team for Palermo on Saturday, Mihajlovic kept the Italian international in there.

From the deep-lying position he has shown his full passing repertoire, gathering possession from the defenders and starting moves. His 88.3 per cent pass accuracy, according to WhoScored, is a testament to his technical quality.

 

Key Battle

Carlos Bacca vs. Danilo

Bacca has made a fast start to life in Milan, scoring three goals in four league appearances to confirm his class. In the process, any doubts as to his ability to settle in Italy and penetrate Serie A’s well-organised defensive lines have been firmly swept aside.

Joining Milan as one of European football’s in-form strikers, he has yet to strike up a fully functioning relationship with fellow new signing Luiz Adriano, but Bacca isn’t waiting for them to click and has shown himself to be capable of taking on the goalscoring burden alone for the time being.

In Danilo, Bacca will find himself up against an experienced Serie A customer, one who has been a regular for Udinese over the past four years.

The Brazilian will likely be partnered by two of Molla Wague, Thomas Heurtaux or Ivan Piris to form a back three, as Udinese seek to stifle attacks before countering.

With Adriano yet to hit top form and Balotelli yet to start since returning to the club, Milan will require Bacca to be at his cutting, clinical best if they are to break through Udinese’s defence.

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