Source: Football Italia
Carlo Ancelotti will keep many of the players who excelled in Istanbul when Milan face Lecce, including Manuel Rui Costa and Dario Simic.
“The more quality a player has, the more he suffers at being left out. Rui Costa is one of these examples,” explained the tactician. “If he is always ready to impress, the credit has to go to his talent and professionalism. His teammates all appreciate him for those qualities.”
The Portuguese star has barely set foot on the field this season, but Kaka’s injury during the first half of Wednesday’s 4-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce opened the door for a good performance. Rui Costa will have the chance to build on that against Lecce this evening, as the Brazilian remains sidelined with a bruised hip.
“Gennaro Gattuso also picked up an injury in Istanbul, though I hope he can recover in time. I haven’t decided the front two either, as Andriy Shevchenko’s status is under review and Christian Vieri has a muscular problem.”
Marek Jankulovski and Johann Vogel are challenging to replace Gattuso in midfield, while either Alessandro Nesta or Paolo Maldini will be rested so that Simic and the returning Jaap Stam can start in defence.
“Stam is fit and has fresh legs, so he could play in the centre. Simic was precise and focused throughout the Champions League game, but above all I was impressed by his character.”
Milan fell five points adrift of Serie A leaders Juventus with last week’s defeat to Fiorentina and must get back on track against relegation strugglers Lecce.
“They are a very pacey team, especially now that Axel Konan and Mirko Vucinic have rediscovered their form,” warned Ancelotti. “We played some good quality football in Florence, even if we shot ourselves in the foot with a few errors. We need to learn how to keep a game in the balance, as we can strike at any time.”
. Player rotation? He isn't player for just Coppa Italia 
