Stefano Pioli confirms he will use his ‘strongest’ Milan line-up in the Coppa Italia against Genoa tomorrow, with Olivier Giroud and Ante Rebic coming in.
The Round of 16 fixture kicks off at San Siro on Thursday at 20.00 GMT.
It is a one-off match, so the winner will be decided after 90 minutes, extra time or even penalties.
“The Coppa Italia is an opportunity for us to show our quality and we must do our best in every competition,” Pioli told Sport Mediaset.
The Rossoneri crashed out of the Champions League and Europe entirely after finishing bottom of their group, so along with the Scudetto, this is their only shot at silverware this season.
It is an intriguing encounter with Genoa, whose coach Andriy Shevchenko is reportedly at risk of dismissal just weeks after taking over.
“Genoa are going through a difficult moment, so I expect them to be very determined. We must be ready and prepared for a great performance.
“Sheva is intelligent, a very capable coach and I wish him the best for his career. Unfortunately, all coaches have moments like this, but he’s smart and will get the best out of this difficult situation.”
Milan are still dealing with numerous injury and COVID-19 issues, so squad selection is limited for Pioli.
“Ibrahimovic is out of action, and that’s a pity, because it would’ve allowed us an option to freshen things up during the game. Giroud will start, he is close to optimal condition and he will lead our attack tomorrow.
“We will use our best available XI, so Mike Maignan is in goal. Ciprian Tatarusanu was out for a week with COVID, so I don’t even know if he’ll be on the bench.”
It is likely that Ante Rebic will be back in the starting XI after numerous injury problems this season.
“All those coming back from injury need to train, but also to play and get minutes in their legs. Daniel Maldini is improving a great deal and working hard. He is a more complete player compared to last season and tomorrow could be a good opportunity for him too.”
Pioli a SportMediaset: “Domani in campo i migliori. In porta gioca Maignan, in avanti ci sarà Giroud” https://t.co/b9ccTteKL0
— MilanNews.it (@MilanNewsit) January 12, 2022