Report: AC Milan may look to rest some players against Celtic

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AC Milan may look to rest some players against Celtic after storming to the top of Serie A, according to Milan News 24.

The popular Milan-focused website believes that manager Stefano Pioli is considering throwing in some of the fringe players after coming off of an intense derby victory against Inter Milan on Saturday.

Celtic will welcome the Rossoneri to Parkhead in their Europa League group stage opener on Thursday night. However, despite Milan looking to bolster their reputation in Europe, it could be the case that UEFA’s secondary club competition isn’t a priority.

Milan News 24 believes that Pioli is worried the game could lead to a great waste of energy. This comes after the Serie A giants won their first four games of the season and prepare to host Roma on Monday night.

The report also highlights three players who may be thrown into action. They state that Brahim Diaz may come in for either Samu Castillejo or Alexis Saelemaekers. Sandro Tonali is also mentioned as a potential replacement for Ismael Bannacer. Whilst Diogo Dalot, on loan from Man Utd, could make his Milan debut.

Still plenty of quality players ready to step in

As much as it’s easy to get excited for some when they hear that one of our big-name Euro opponents may be making changes, Milan still have plenty of quality at their disposal.

Pioli’s side isn’t coming to Celtic Park to get beaten, regardless of whatever team is put out. They’ll know that three points on Thursday night already puts them in a strong position to kickstart the group.

For a club like Milan, performing on the European stage has to be considered important. It’s where the Rossoneri have managed to build their reputation over the years. We’re talking about a club that have won seven European Cups/Champions League titles, as well as five European Super Cups and two European/UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups.

You would also still expect the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hakan Calhanoglu to take part in the fixture too. Milan will have an extremely experienced and quality-brimmed attack to try and shoot us down with.

The Celtic players will want Milan to field their strongest possible XI to see where we’re currently at against that level of opposition. But if that isn’t the case, it’s vital we take advantage of any sloppiness in the AC ranks.

Even after Saturday’s disappointment, there’s something exciting about this one on Thursday. Hopefully, the boys turn up and show us up well.

In other news, we discuss why the glee of Rangers-minded pundits must be stored by the Celtic squad.