Ancelotti: Pirlo May Start

Torino host Milan at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino on Sunday night in the last Serie A game of the weekend. Milan will have a keen eye on the derby D'Italia battle at San Siro tonight, knowing that anything but an Inter win will see them move to top spot if they triumph at Torino tomorrow.

The Rossoneri will be eager to produce a convincing performance after they struggled and then controversially beat Chievo 1-0 last week.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side may be able to boast the return of Andrea Pirlo from injury this weekend, and that will be a great boost for the Rossoneri. Torino are also desperate for some points this weekend as their 3-2 defeat at Catania left them just three points outside the relegation zone.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ancelotti commented on the return of Pirlo to the squad, saying, “He may start from the beginning. Rino (Gattuso) has done very well in his absence but Andrea has characteristics that are fundamental for us, such as the long pass.”

Ancelotti moved on to other players who were reportedly in doubt for the encounter. “Kaka will play, he has no problems from his time with his national team. Jankulovski is in a good moment. He does very well when he doesn’t have physical problems to think about,” said the coach.

Ancelotti continued, “We must continue to do well away from home, as we did against Lecce, but with a different result. For our draws against Lecce and Cagliari we faced teams that were in great condition. We cannot underestimate Torino, we will find a difficult atmosphere, there is a great deal of passion around them.”

Peter Pedroncelli