Milan facing tricky Sassuolo Coppa Italia tie, says Fonseca

Milan must remain on their toes when they host impressive Serie B leaders Sassuolo in a Coppa Italia last-16 tie on Tuesday, coach Paulo Fonseca says.

Milan start their cup campaign against a Sassuolo team who are in good form after being relegated from Serie A last season, finishing eleven consecutive seasons in the top flight.

“For me they are not a Serie B team, they have a lot of players who are at Serie A level,” Fonseca said in an interview for Milan TV on Monday.

“There is not alone [striker Domenico] Berardi, who shone in Serie A. They defeated Lecce 2-0 in the previous round, a side from Serie A. They are at the top of the table and are a strong team.

“We analyzed them well. I told the players to expect a difficult match against a team that should play for me in Serie A.”

Sassuolo, who are three points ahead of second-placed Pisa after 15 games in Serie B, have only lost at home to Cremonese this season and are unbeaten in 11 games since.

Milan, meanwhile, are seventh in Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Napoli with a game in hand.

Paulo Fonseca on…

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“Milan have not won the cup for a while. We must have a clear ambition in this competition,” said Fonseca.

“But we don't look too far ahead. If we want to have ambitions to reach the final, which should be our goal, we have to win tomorrow.”

Five-time Coppa Italia winners Milan last won the trophy more than twenty years ago, in 2003.

The Portuguese coach said there will be changes to the starting line-up for the match following Milan's 3-0 home win over Empoli in Serie A on Saturday, and ahead of their next league match against second-placed Atalanta on Friday.

“We played two days ago. If we don't manage the team and the players well, we could have physical problems and we don't want that,” he said.

“I have confidence in all the players. But of course there will be some changes, but always with the aim of winning the match.”

Some changes are due to health problems.

“Mike Maignan won't be there due to dental surgery. Theo [Hernandez] won't be there either because of a foot problem. The others are all ready to play,” Fonseca added.