AC MILAN v MONZA: KEYS TO THE MATCH

It will be a historic first for the two 'neighbouring' teams: AC Milan and Monza face each other on matchday 11 of Serie A and for the first time in the top flight. At San Siro it will be a tough match and the Rossoneri will be looking for their fourth consecutive win in the league after Empoli, Juventus and Verona, before flying to Zagreb to face Dynamo in the Champions League. Let's find out what the tactical keys may be for the match against Palladino's side. 

EARLY ADVANTAGE
In recent weeks AC Milan have faced difficult and demanding matches, between league and cup, and the horizon an equally challenging encounter awaits the Rossoneri. In the league, in October, Empoli, Juventus and Verona were tough opponents that AC Milan managed to beat, always going ahead first. This is a recurring fact in our season so far: in the 7 matches in which we have taken the lead, we have always managed to bring home the three points, both in the league (6 times) and in the Champions League. Being able to open the scoring early - which AC Milan have already done four times in the first 15 minutes of play - could allow the team to control the match with more composure from a position of strength, exploit more space on the counter-attack and, possibly, look for a greater rotation of elements in the game in progress. Important aspects both in the management of the match itself, but also in trying to preserve some energy in light of the Champions League. Prior to this challenge, Monza have never managed to come back in the six times they have been on the losing side this season, and this could be a further indication of the strategic importance of going ahead. 

AGGRESSIVE ATTITUDE
Monza is a team that likes to have the ball in their feet, they produce a prolonged possession while looking for a reasoned and less vertical attack towards the opponent's goal. Palladino's formation is among the Serie A teams with the highest percentage of possession (55%). On the contrary, the Rossoneri prefer a more direct football, based on recovering the ball in the opponent's half of the field and immediately attacking the goal, also exploiting the central midfield, a characteristic that Monza has shown to suffer in this first phase of the season. This is precisely one of the keys to the match, also by virtue of the fact that the Brianzoli will present themselves at San Siro without the suspended Rovella, a central element to the game together with Stefano Sensi. AC Milan's aggressive attitude will also have to be guided by the defence, which will have the task of not giving depth and keeping the team short, with high intensity and ball retrieval to then give field and space to all the speed we know how to express from the restart.

OFFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Pioli has recently got Junior Messias back into the side, who has been on the bench in the last two matches but is ready to return to the starting eleven, from which he has been missing since Sampdoria v AC Milan on 10 September. In addition to the Brazilian, De Ketelaere is also available again after the injury that kept him out against Chelsea and Verona. The coach will therefore regain almost all of the Rossoneri's attacking potential and could decide to re-propose the classic 4-2-3-1: this line-up could create a few more headaches for Palladino's team, who are used to playing with a midfield that is more about dribbling and less about passing. The simultaneous presence on the pitch of three attacking trequartisti, combined with the constant drive of the full-backs, could create an important numerical superiority in the offensive phase for the Rossoneri, especially on the outside, which Monza in recent matches have manned with two players like Carlos Augusto and Ciurria. The search for the two flanks could also force the Brianzoli to concede some space centrally: a situation that, as we said before, the Biancorossi could suffer.

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