Pulisic could 'infect everyone' with the Milan midfielder a doubt for Torino trip

Christian Pulisic is a doubt for AC Milan's trip to Torino with a fever, with head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisting he will not be risked if there is a chance he will "infect everyone".

The Rossoneri travel to Turin on Monday with victory potentially taking them back above rivals Inter, who beat Como 4-0 on Saturday, and to the Serie A summit.

However, Milan are likely to be without Pulisic, who also missed last weekend's 1-0 victory over Lazio with a muscular injury.

"Pulisic had a fever last night, we'll see tomorrow whether he's available or not," Allegri told reporters during his pre-match press conference on Sunday.

"We won't take him with us if he's going to infect everyone.

"We hope to have [Santiago] Gimenez back as soon as possible, he's important and we need him numerically and tactically. 

"[Zachary] Athekame is working on his recovery. We hope to have [Youssouf] Fofana for Sassuolo [on December 14]. This is a very important week."

Despite Milan's promising position with the midway point in the season approaching, Allegri believes his side are not the "best-equipped" to land their first Scudetto in four years.

"I don't know, it depends on the runs that teams put together," he added. "Inter and Napoli are the best-equipped for the Scudetto, but there are a lot of teams within a few points, which is an anomaly.

"At some stage, the standings will have to stretch out, and we have to stay there. 

"We need the conviction to improve. Each one of us has to work to get the most out of it. Nothing is impossible and everything is possible. We have to do our best to achieve whatever is possible."

Torino, meanwhile, occupy 13th place in the Serie A table, with Marco Baroni's side aiming to end a run of five matches without victory.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Torino – Duvan Zapata

Though it is over a year since he last scored in Serie A, Zapata has netted in both of his two previous games for Torino against Milan in the competition.

The striker has seven Serie A goals against the Rossoneri overall, only scoring more against Sassuolo (10).

AC Milan – Rafael Leao

Since his first start in this Serie A season (matchday seven), Leao has scored a league-high five goals in the competition.

The Milan forward has averaged 1.6 shots on target per 90 minutes this term, his highest average in a single campaign since joining the Rossoneri in 2019-20.

MATCH PREDICTION – AC MILAN WIN

Milan are unbeaten in their last 12 Serie A matches (W8 D4), keeping seven clean sheets during this streak. The last time they had a longer unbeaten run in the first half of an Italian top-flight campaign was in 2020-21 (15 games).

The Rossoneri have scored in 11 of their last 12 Serie A matches against Torino, averaging 1.8 goals per game (22 in total).

Il Toro have conceded 14 goals in the first half of games in Serie A this season, at least five more than any other side. By contrast, Milan have only let in three such goals this term, the joint-fewest in the division (along with Lazio).

Torino prevailed 2-1 when the sides last met in February, but you must go back to September 2019 for the last time they beat Milan in successive league games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Torino – 22.8%

Draw – 25.6%

AC Milan – 51.6%