Alessandro Spugna speaks ahead of Milan encounter

Here’s what coach Alessandro Spugna had to say ahead of the game...

Does winning and playing well help speed up the players’ recovery?

“Winning is always the best medicine, especially getting three points in the Champions League which put us top of the group. It’s really helped in terms of recovery.

Milan have changed a lot since last season, both on the bench and on the pitch. What kind of team are you expecting?

“They’ve undergone a coaching change – Suzanne Bakker is now in charge, who we know from when we faced her Ajax side in the Champions League.

“They’ve also had a bit of a squad turnover. Milan are embarking on something new, but they’re doing well and playing good football. They had some negative results at the start of the season, as did we, but they’ve got more points on the board than us right now. They’re a team we’ll have to keep a close eye on and we’ll need to compete well against them, bringing our Champions League performance into this match. We need to get back to playing well in the league.”

How important is it to end this run on games in a positive manner?

“Finishing off with a win and taking points off a rival would be crucial. We lost our last game in the league against Juventus and rounding off this run of fixtures with a good performance would be important, given we’ve got a ten day international break to come. It would leave our players in good mental and physical shape for their countries.”