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Serie A Preview: Milan – Roma
The match of week nine in Serie A will be impulsive viewing as Milan host Roma at San Siro.
Milan’s Poor Domestic Form
The Rossoneri go into the game off the back of a magnificent 4-1 thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The European Champions produced a mesmerising display of attacking football to demonstrate to the rest of Europe that it will take an almighty effort to wrestle their sacred crown off of them.
However things are not so rosy at home for Milan and they have had what President Silvio Berlusconi has described as their worst start to a league season since he took over the club more than 20 years ago.
Having won just two of their first eight Serie A games they currently find themselves in a lowly 11th position in the table. Sitting 10 points behind league-leaders and local-rivals Inter, Milan’s chances of winning the Scudetto already look over, even at this very early stage of the campaign.
What is for certain is that the Diavoli cannot afford to drop more points against Roma on Sunday, so you can bet your bottom dollar that they will come out and go for the win at all costs.
Milan have struggled this season against teams who have sat back and defended with a deep defensive line. This will not be the case against an adventurous Roma team, so the space will certainly be there for the likes of Kaka, Seedorf and Pirlo to work their magic.
Roma Struggling
Roma are really starting to struggle in recent weeks after a blistering start to the season.
The Giallorossi won their first five games of the campaign without even conceding a goal, and were winning the plaudits of the whole of Europe for their beautiful pass and move one-touch football.
However, after the 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev on September 19, Luciano Spalletti’s men only won one of their next six games. This included a humiliating 4-1 thrashing at home by Inter, as the Romans fell five points behind their title-rivals at the top.
On Tuesday night Roma secured a much-needed boost of confidence with a 2-1 Champions League victory over Sporting Lisbon at the Stadio Olimpico, but in truth the home side looked a shadow of the team that had delighted neutrals at the start of the campaign.
A major problem has certainly been in defence. The Giallorossi have conceded a whopping 12 goals in their last five Serie A games and for the first time they appear to be really missing the calming influence of Romanian stopper Christian Chivu who left for Inter in the summer.
Injuries have also hurt Roma’s cause recently and the victory over Sporting in midweek came at a massive cost, with the news that talismanic captain Francesco Totti will miss the game with Milan due to an ankle problem.
The game at San Siro on Sunday is a crucial clash for Spalletti’s men as a defeat could see them drop eight points behind Inter. Such a margin, even at this early stage of the campaign, would be very difficult to recover given the impressive early season form of the Nerazzurri.
RECENT FORM GUIDE
Milan
9/30 Milan 1-1 Catania Serie A
10/03 Celtic 2-1 Milan Champions League
10/07 Lazio 1-5 Milan Serie A
10/21 Milan 0-1 Empoli Serie A
10/24 Milan 4-1 Shakhtar Champions League
Roma
9/29 Roma 1-4 Inter Serie A
10/02 Man Utd 1-0 Roma Champions League
10/07 Parma 0-3 Roma Serie A
10/20 Roma 4-4 Napoli Serie A
10/23 Roma 2-1 Sporting Champions League
TEAM NEWS
Milan
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is unlikely to make many changes from the team who thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The only possible switch could occur in defence with Kakhaber Kaladze taking Giuseppe Favalli’s place at left back, and captain Paolo Maldini returning in the centre to partner Alessandro Nesta. Marek Jankulovski is out after picking up an injury against Empoli.
Alberto Gilardino is likely to be preferred to Filippo Inzaghi in the lone striker role following his two-goal salvo in midweek.
Milan (probable): Dida; Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf, Kaka; Gilardino
Roma
The Giallorossi were dealt a massive blow by the news that inspirational leader Francesco Totti will not recover in time for the San Siro showdown.
His place up-front will go to Mirko Vucinic, who scored and impressed after coming on as a substitute against Sporting in midweek.
In midfield Alberto Aquilani, Rodrigo Taddei and Mauro Esposito are all out through injury but Simone Perrotta is expected to recover in time.
Roma (probable): Doni; Panucci, Mexes, Juan, Tonetto; De Rossi, Pizarro; Perrotta, Giuly, Mancini; Vucinic
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Milan – Kaka
The Brazilian superstar is undoubtedly the best player in the world at the moment. All this talk about Messi and Ronaldo – forget about it. On Wednesday night Kaka ran Shakhtar Donetsk rugged and he should have grabbed a hat-trick.
When he is given space, the 25-year-old is unplayable, and as it is not in Roma’s style to sit back and defend deep, it could be a tough afternoon in store for the Giallorossi on Sunday.
Roma – Daniele De Rossi
With their talisman and inspiration, Francesco Totti, unavailable, the Giallorossi will require another Roman born-and-bred to come to the fore.
De Rossi has shown all the leadership qualities of a future Roma captain and he will need to galvanise the troops around him if his team are to come away with anything from Milan. He will also be given the daunting role of keeping Kaka quiet.
PREDICTION
Milan thrive against opposition who come out and play them at their own attacking game. Roma are renowned for their adventurous style and I believe this will play right into the Rossoneri’s hands. The loss of Francesco Totti will also be too big a blow for the away side and I foresee a comprehensive victory for the European Champions.
Milan 3-1 Roma
Carlo Garganese
Goal.com
This post has been edited by Rossoneri7: Oct 28 2007, 12:19 AM