Amid all of the news about transfers and the Champions League draw, there is a derby to be played on Sunday which Sergio Conceicao is preparing for. Conceicao must get his team ready to show maximum focus, something he has arguably failed to do so far.
Yesterday afternoon the squad met at training complex after returning from the trip to Zagreb. Malick Thiaw and Ruben Loftus-Cheek trained on their own are unlikely to recover for the derby. In defence there is a red alert, because in addition to the German, Matteo Gabbia is also not feeling too great.
In the first half of the match against Dinamo, in fact, he suffered a calf problem and his presence on Sunday is in serious doubt. If he were not to make it, the central defensive pairing would be Fikayo Tomori and Strahinka Pavlovic as the only two healthy options.
Kyle Walker should make his first start, with Theo Hernandez the other full-back. Problems also in midfield, where after 30 consecutive games Youssouf Fofana will be missing.
So, against Inter, barring any surprises, it will be Ismael Bennacer β who remained on the bench for 90 minutes in Zagreb β who will play, with Yunus Musah and Tijjani Reijnders as mezzali. It will be the first derby of the season for the Algerian, after being sidelined in August and an unused sub in Riyadh. Pulisic and Leao are certain of their places on the wings in attack , although Chukwueze has returned well from injury, scoring the winning goal against Parma and showing some positive signs during the Champions League match.
