Milan director Paolo Maldini discusses Stefano Pioli’s status, the new-old role for Rafael Leao, contract developments and Mike Maignan’s planned comeback ahead of the match with Torino.
It kicks off at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in San Siro at 19.45 GMT.
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
These sides already met twice this season and Toro emerged 2-1 winners in Serie A in October, then 1-0 in extra time when down to 10 men in the Coppa Italia last month.
This is an historic occasion for the club, as Milan mark their 3,000th Serie A match, but the mood is dark and fans have been turning on coach Stefano Pioli, the club and players.
“There were some unfortunate things on social media, we know how these things work,” Maldini told DAZN.
“There’s no point denying that January didn’t start well, even if we won the first match and dominated the second against Roma only to draw, but the performances after that have not been up to our standards.”
Pioli won the Scudetto only last season, but he too no longer feels too secure and continues to draw criticism with a 3-4-3 formation.
“Everyone is judged every three days with every match, that is the case for anyone in this world of football. Pioli changed system to bring back some of the solidity that has been lost, not from last year so much as from earlier this season.
“Up until January, our results were in line with last season and we also qualified for the Champions League Round of 16, so the only difference was Napoli having an extraordinary campaign.
“Our weeks in general have been varied, because the work was done well in training, we tried to get back to what we were doing before, but when it doesn’t happen on the field, the mental aspect makes a difference, unfortunately.
“You must try to find a way into the minds of the players, that is something for the coach and for the club. We know it is a young squad in a demanding stadium like San Siro. I was part of perhaps one of the greatest teams of all time and we had worse periods than this. There’s no hard and fast recipe to emerge from these things.”
Rafael Leao was dropped for two games in a row, including the Derby della Madonnina, but he returns tonight in a 3-4-3 formation.
“When we signed him, Rafa played as a support striker on the left, so exactly the same as tonight,” explained Maldini. “He has great pace and when playing on the flank, he was practically unplayable. He hasn’t always been consistent, and Pioli requires help covering the defence too.
“I don’t think moving to a slightly more central position will be much of a strain for him, because he in any case has improved from when he first arrived in his ability to score goals and be more lethal in front of goal.
“What he is missing at this moment is attacking the space without the ball.”
What else is missing, noted the presenters in the DAZN studio, is Leao’s signature on a new contract, with negotiations seemingly stalling over a lower release clause.
“We are working on it, but this not the time to be thinking about that, we need to focus on the games. No meetings are planned, although with a telephone and Zoom, we don’t need to organise big events, we can talk to agents whenever we want.”
Maignan is still out of action and will now also miss the Champions League Round of 16 games against Tottenham Hotspur.
“The plan is to get him back into the squad over the next 10 days, then obviously a goalkeeper needs time to get back to speed, especially someone who suffered two relapses in the same spot.
“We also considered surgery over the last few months, fortunately we didn’t go down that road and he should return in circa 10 days.”