Milan defenders return and Atalanta have attacking options

Milan have Davide Calabria and Pierre Kalulu back in the squad for their showdown with Atalanta, as they prepare squad rotation, while Ademola Lookman is available with Charles De Ketelaere.

It kicks off at San Siro on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.

The Rossoneri are coming off back-to-back defeats, falling 4-2 with Monza in Serie A and 3-2 in the Europa League play-off against Rennes, although they still progressed 6-2 on aggregate.

Luka Jovic is suspended following his red card against Monza, with Fikayo Tomori and Tommaso Pobega the only remaining long-term absentees.

According to Sky Sport Italia, both Calabria and Kalulu will be in the squad after muscular injuries, in Kalulu’s case his first appearance since a serious thigh tear in October.

Olivier Giroud therefore is the only real alternative to start upfront, but Stefano Pioli could rotate with the return of Malick Thiaw in defence and Ruben Loftus-Cheek behind the striker.

It allows Tijjani Reijnders to drop back down to his usual midfield role and sends Yunus Musah to the bench.

Atalanta make the trip without Jose Luis Palomino, but Lookman is ready after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with a slight injury.

Matteo Ruggeri is expected to start on the left flank rather than Davide Zappacosta, with Teun Koopmeiners supporting the strikers.

It remains to be seen who those will be, as while De Ketelaere can be expected to start against his parent club, the other spot could be Lookman, Aleksei Miranchuk, Mario Pasalic or – less likely – off-form Gianluca Scamacca.

Probable line-ups

Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud

Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Holm, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Miranchuk, De Ketelaere

Verso #MilanAtalanta, la sensazione iniziale diventa una conferma: #Calabria e #Kalulu saranno convocati ????#milanpresshttps://t.co/mKpGZWXDPt

— MilanPress.it (@MilanPress_it) February 24, 2024

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