GdS: Battle of No.9s and ‘extreme gamble’ of Fonseca for Inter-Milan derby | OneFootball

AC Milan will be up against Inter tonight and as highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport, Paulo Fonseca is set to make a pretty big gamble. Indeed, the manager could change the formation and make it even more attacking-minded.

As highlighted by today’s edition of the pink newspaper (see photo below), tonight’s derby is worth a lot for Inter but for Milan, it’s worth everything. The Rossoneri have won just one game, against Venezia who are rock bottom, and were outplayed by Liverpool at San Siro earlier this week.

Unity is lacking at the club, at least based on what we can see on the pitch, with a team of individuals rather than a collective. Losing tonight could be fatal for Fonseca and there are several candidates to take his job, including Maurizio Sarri.

On the other hand, should Milan win and break the negative derby trend, then Fonseca would gain credibility in the eyes of the management. So everything is truly on the line for the Portuguese manager, but the same cannot be said for Simone Inzaghi.

Indeed, Inter emerged from the clash against  Manchester City even more aware of their strength. They have a lot less to lose but after the draw against Monza, they want to get back to winning ways and also make history in the derby.

Battle of the ‘No.9’ leaders

This summer, Lautaro Martinez helped Argentina lift the Copa America trophy thanks to five goals in the tournament, including one in the final against Colombo. Alvaro Morata, as the captain of Spain, helped his side lift the Euros trophy. The two No.9s, despite wearing 10 and 7 respectively, are united by a difficult start to the season.

Both returned late to the pre-season due to international duties and both suffered injuries, slowing down the return to full fitness. Lautaro is yet to score his first goal of the season and since he’s the Capocannoniere favourite, this is certainly eye-opening.

In fact, since March, Lautaro has only scored one goal for Inter and he will certainly look to change things in the derby. He has scored eight times against the Rossoneri before, but it remains to be seen who will win the No.9 battle tonight.

Morata, after bagging a goal in his first game for Milan, then suffered an injury and is only just returning to full fitness. However, he has derby clashes in his blood after experiencing them in Madrid, Turin and London. Now, just like Lautaro, he has a great desire to show his qualities.

Fonseca’s gamble evident

Tomorrow, it appears Morata will also have Tammy Abraham alongside him, with Fonseca testing a 4-4-2 formation at Milanello ahead of the game. This would also mean having Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao on the flanks in the midfield.

For many Milan fans, it’s an idea that sends shivers down the spine as the 5-1 loss against Inter last season is still top of mind. Then, an unbalanced Rossoneri side were tortured by the counter-attacks of the Nerazzurri, which is something even Pep Guardiola praised.

Fonseca could face this team with just two midfielders, one of which is Tijjani Reijnders, two attacking wingers and two full-backs who rather attack than defend. It sounds crazy in many ways, and either it’s a ‘pre-match ploy’ or Fonseca has decided to play it his way in an ‘extreme gamble’.