Press Conference: Fonseca pleased to have selection options

The game at the San Siro gets underway at 17:15 local time.

Following on from Wednesday's victory over Sampdoria, here is what the Portuguese coach had to say going into our next big contest...

Justin Kluivert did not play against Sampdoria. Will he start tomorrow?

“We will see tomorrow. He didn’t play in the first game, he had a little knock the previous week. Now he is fit and ready, but we will see tomorrow.”

How has the side changed since the stop, and how much have you been able to keep things the same?

“These sort of evaluations we can only make at the end of the season. It’s not the time to do that right now. We did a lot of things well before the lockdown, and we started well after it too.

"We played that first game without a normal preparation, but the side performed well against Sampdoria. I am very optimistic about this part of the season.”

What did you admire most about AC Milan during the Berlusconi era? One of the best teams ever…

“Rijkaard, Gullit, Van Basten, Baresi, Maldini… they are all players I really admired when I was younger. And the coaches too; Sacchi, Capello… just like the players they did some incredible things. One of the greatest teams I have ever seen.”

Atalanta have started well again – is there still hope you can catch them? And is this Roma side too dependent on Edin Dzeko?

“Dzeko is important, but all of our players are. We don’t depend on just one player, but we depend on all of them. Atalanta are a very strong side, they are doing really well but we still hope to catch them. We have to focus on winning our games, we can’t worry about what other sides are doing.”

Sunday’s game will be the only one taking place in the full daytime heat. Have you been thinking about a way to take advantage of the five changes?

“I think it will be too hot at that time – but it is the same issue for both clubs, so you can’t use it as any sort of excuse. For the quality of the game it would be better not to be playing at that time. I don’t feel like the players are particularly worried about it though, they are all calm and positive.

“I have not thought about any particular changes, I will base that on the way the game is developing tactically and the way the guys are playing.”

It’s been about 45 days since Pau Lopez got injured. What has gone wrong with his rehabilitation?

“Pau has undergone a normal recovery process. He has begun to train with us but he is not ready for tomorrow. I think he will be ready for the next game, though. His rehabilitation has gone according to plan.”

Can Henrikh Mkhitaryan start two games like this, so close together? And how is Davide Zappacosta?

“Mkhitaryan had a slight knock [after Wednesday], but it’s not an issue and he is ready to play tomorrow. And so is Zappacosta?

In the last game you had the highest number of shots in Serie A. What does it mean, then, that you found it so hard to actually score against Sampdoria?

“It always concerns me if the side isn’t creating chances – if they are, then that is always a positive thing. We created a lot and I think that, if the team continues to play like this, creating so much, we will have more chances of scoring.

“It will worry me if we are not creating chances. And we have to remember that we won – that’s the most important thing. I am confident that the team will generally continue to create a lot of chances like that. Against Milan it will probably be a different sort of game, probably we will not create quite so many chances – but we can score anyway, even with fewer openings."

What sort of game are you expecting against Stefano Pioli? Is Ante Rebic the main thread?

“Milan are in good form – I watched their last game, they played well. This Milan side is stronger than the one we faced earlier in the season. But, above all, we have to think about what we can do against a top side like Milan. They have a lot of quality players, not just Rebic. We can’t focus on individuals, but the entire team.”

Is having a bigger squad available to you an advantage at this stage of the season?

“It’s a big positive that we can count on basically all of our players, they are ready. I have the option to make changes from game to game, and right now I can’t just think about the next game – I have to think about how we have games every three days.

"With all the players fit and ready then that makes it a lot easier for me to make decisions.”