Stefano Pioli reveals why he chose Yunus Musah in midfield for the Europa League trip to Slavia Praha. ‘He has more dynamism’ when defending.
It kicks off at the Eden Arena in Prague at 17.45 GMT.
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Fiorentina-Maccabi Haifa, Atalanta-Sporting and Brighton-Roma on the LIVEBLOG.
The first leg ended 4-2 at San Siro, but considering the Czech side was down to 10 men for over an hour with the El Hadji Malick Diouf red card, it was far tougher than perhaps should’ve been expected.
“This must be the first step. It will not be easy, as our opponents play with energy and tempo on home turf. We need a strong start, but to keep it going right to the end too,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
Alessandro Florenzi is suspended, with Tommaso Pobega the only remaining injury absentee.
The starting XI is very much what was expected, other than one slot in midfield, where Musah is picked to partner Yacine Adli, leaving Tijjani Reijnders and Ismael Bennacer on the bench.
“It is because of the positions we want to take when defending. Yunus has more legs and dynamism to combat them on the wings, which is there they push hard.”
Slavia Praha topped their Europa League group ahead of Roma this season, largely thanks to a 2-0 win over the Giallorossi on home turf.
“We expect our opponents to play with a high tempo, but we intend to match them,” concluded Pioli.