Milan host surprise qualifiers Carpi in tonight’s Coppa Italia quarter-final with Carlos Bacca and M’Baye Niang.
It kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 GMT and is a one-off game, so will be decided this evening after 90 minutes, extra time or even penalties.
It’s reported Sinisa Mihajlovic will be sacked if he fails to get past little Carpi, who had never previously reached this stage of the tournament.
Milan host surprise qualifiers Carpi in tonight’s Coppa Italia quarter-final with Carlos Bacca and M’Baye Niang.
It kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 GMT and is a one-off game, so will be decided this evening after 90 minutes, extra time or even penalties.
It’s reported Sinisa Mihajlovic will be sacked if he fails to get past little Carpi, who had never previously reached this stage of the tournament.
Fabrizio Castori’s men knocked out Livorno, Vicenza and Fiorentina on their way to the quarter-finals, while this is their first ever competitive match at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
When these sides met in Serie A on December 6, it ended goalless, a result that poured huge pressure on Mihajlovic.
Milan eliminated Perugia, Crotone and Sampdoria so far this season, but have gone out in the quarter-finals for three years running.
The Rossoneri were knocked out by Juventus in 2013, Udinese in 2014 and Lazio last term.
Mario Balotelli is back on the bench after three months, but Luiz Adriano was left out ahead of his transfer to China.
Niang therefore partners Bacca with Jack Bonaventura and Keisuke Honda in midfield.
Christian Abbiati is given the nod in the Coppa games, so 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma gets a rest.
Carpi have new signing Matteo Mancosu on the bench after his arrival from Bologna, while it’s a return to San Siro for ex-Milan defender Cristian Zaccardo.
Kevin Lasagna is supported by Lorenzo Lollo.
Igor Bubnjic is injured, Marco Borriello and Ryder Matos out awaiting transfers and Jerry Mbakogu suspended.
The winners will go on to face either Spezia or Alessandria in the semi-final, so there’s in theory a clear path to the Final and Europa League qualification.
Milan: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Zapata, Romagnoli, Antonelli; Honda, Kucka, Montolivo, Bonaventura; Niang, Bacca
Milan bench: Donnarumma, Livieri, Abate, Alex, Calabria, Simic, Bertolacci, De Jong, Josè Mauri, Balotelli, Poli, Boateng
Carpi: Brkic; Zaccardo, Romagnoli, Gagliolo, Letizia; Pasciuti, Marrone, Bianco, Gabriel Silva; Lollo; Lasagna
Carpi bench: Belec, Cofie, Suagher, Daprelà; Crimi, Martinho, Mancosu, Di Gaudio