AC MILAN v SALERNITANA: DUELS

AC Milan v Salernitana is a match that evokes great memories for the Rossoneri, with the last encounter coming in the season when the Scudetto was won in the Club’s centenary year. The team from Salerno were a surprise package last season as they won promotion from Serie B, and they’ll be arriving at San Siro looking to add some crucial points to their tally. The Diavolo, meanwhile, are on the hunt for a home victory, something that has been missing since the end of October. Among other things, the match between the Rossoneri and the Granata will be decided by individual duels. Here are a few to watch out for:

JUNIOR MESSIAS v FEDERICO BONAZZOLI
AC Milan’s man of the moment against Salernitana’s top scorer in the league. The Brazilian, who comes into the game on the back of his brace at the Marassi, has found the net three times this season. Bonazzoli, meanwhile, has netted five and has thus contributed to half of the points picked up by the Granata so far this season. In addition to being the man who has scored 50% of Salernitana’s away goals this campaign, Bonazzoli is also the Granata player who has at the most shots on (seven) and off target (eight) and been on the end of the most fouls (33). Should he play as a starter, Messias, the Rossoneri’s 13th goalscorer this season, could become the first AC Milan player since Piątek to find the net in his very first two starts for the Club and the first-ever Rossonero to score 2+ goals in both of his first two games as a starter since the beginning of the three-points-per-win era.

THEO HERNÁNDEZ v LUCA RANIERI
The battle between the two No.19s. Both are two natural left-footers who like to make their way up the flank and are able to make a positive difference with their tactical intelligence. Ranieri’s 263 passes in the opposition half and 45 crosses are particularly noteworthy. Hernández, meanwhile, is jointly leading the Serie A assists ranking, with no other defender having done better than him in this regard. Along with Rafael Leão, the Frenchman is the Rossonero who has suffered the most fouls during the current league campaign.

FRANCK KESSIE v LASSANA COULIBALY
Fresh from his 200th appearance for the Rossoneri, the Ivorian will go head-to-head with the Malian midfielder, who has thus far strung together a series of fine performances in his first Serie A season. The pair, who also came up against each other in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, are more than capable of making an impact at both ends of the pitch. Coulibaly has recently recovered from a thigh injury that meant he missed four games in October, but he has since made three successive starts; Kessie, on the other hand, is on the hunt for that goal that has eluded him ever since the match against Roma on 31 October, or Hellas Verona on 16 October when only home games are considered.

MIKE MAIGNAN v VID BELEC
A direct comparison between goalkeepers is also worth looking at, with the Slovenian goalkeeper, who played a pivotal role in their campaign that led to promotion to Serie A last season, also standing out so far this season. Belec, the only player to have started every game for the Granata along with Simy, has made the fourth most saves so far (49), a figure which is tied to his 61% save percentage in Serie A this season. Maignan has a 75% save percentage, a figure surpassed only by Ospina and Romero in Serie A.

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