Keisuke Honda could finally be deployed behind the strikers, perhaps for the first time since his arrival.

Adriano Galliani said earlier this week that the match against Fiorentina “is an important game, but it’s not decisive” for the future of coach Filippo Inzaghi but it’s obvious that Pippo will have to get a positive result to, at least, finish the season while still having a job.

Milan will be without Riccardo Montolivo, Nigel De Jong and Andrea Poli against the Viola due to injuries and suspensions and Inzaghi will have to find different solutions. On Tuesday it was reported that a midfield of Suso, Marco Van Ginkel and Giacomo Bonaventura was tried in midfield with Jeremy Menez and Mattia Destro in attack. The formation of 4-3-1-2 is going to be kept and in the hole it’s likely to see Honda.

It was the match with Fiorentina in the first round in which everything changed for Keisuke. He scored twice against Hellas in the previous match but October 19th was the last time he found the net. As noted by La Gazzetta dello Sport today, “Keisuke has completely lost the brilliance” that he possessed in the very early stages of the season. Inzaghi is a big fan of Honda and played him 21 times this season, which is many considering the player lost a month due to the Asian Cup.

Honda and Milan are both in a difficult moment but Inzaghi is hoping that the Japanese will play an important role in a possible late-season revival of Milan, who are targeting a Europa League spot. Gazzetta claims that Honda can be used as a trequartista on Monday at 19:00 CET, where he feels more free to express his qualities and showcase his #10 talents, as opposed to the right wing where he’s spent the majority of his time under both Clarence Seedorf and former striker Inzaghi.

Milan need a good Honda to get back on track and Inzaghi will hope that using Honda behind Destro and Menez – if he indeed goes down this road – will give the Diavolo the added value to win.