2 - 1... Oli will start this one, right!?

I hope so...

I'm fearing a Gila - Pippo horror show though

It will be interesting to see how Carlo uses Pippo. Will he be a starter or a second half sub ?!

I would like Pippo to start though. He relishes these matchs

I have a feeling Pippo or Ambrosini will start.

I think we'll play the Xtree.

We're going to win 2-0! One at the beginning and one near the closing stages...

Let's hope so.

Something tells me that we'll see some drama of the Lyon/Celtic/PSV/Ajax type. My heart really can't handle another one of those.

We absolutely need to give Pippo a chance. He saved us last year, lets hope he will do the same thing.

At the moment, if we look back to Siena and Chievo game, we had Ronnie score two goals (he is not eligible), and the rest of the goals were scored by odo, yanku, ambro and others. NOT strikers!

So we can clearly see that Gila can only score when there is only 5% chance of miss. We havent tried Pippo yet, and Oli is unstable.

It would be better to play 4-4-2, that means we double the chances of scoring with strikers, as opposed to the X-Tree. And we should also play Ambro, Yanku and others, who have in the past shown that they can score, even thought the strikers cant.

I say we should play Pippo upfront with Gila (yes yes, what other choices do we have), and at the back, play solid football, without Simic of course.

Lets see, I wouldnt be so exited about this one

3-0 or 2-0. Milan plays very strong game at home in CL matches, that's our history.
Pipo shouldn't start, he'll be good addition for the second half, in case we don't make it in the first one.

I want gila and oli to start. But if we dont play xtree, i doubt we'll have a chance of actually winning the game. Our history of wins dont really tie in with the performance of this season. Also if dida does the same show he did against chievo, were gonna be in real trouble.

We'll win it without a doubt.

2-0.

Can someone tell me if we have a chance at champions league next year?
Cuz I dont think we can make it 4th place

I think we have a good chance, we're only 3 points behind Lazio and 5 points behind Palermo (they have a game in hand). I could easily see Lazio ending up 3rd and Milan/Palermo 4th.

3-0 win! Again i watch Celtic yesterday against the bottom team in their division and they won 2-1 but were pretty awful
the missed loads of chances and defended poorly so i can only see 1 winner and it will be us. Hopefully Dida won't play and Storari will get a game but in truth Kalac will play and won't have to much to do

Hope your right mishie, worst thing now is too lose to Celtic

It's funny how Dida makes a mistake (to be honest one more mistake) and people drag him down to Kalac's and Storari's level saying he shouldn't play against Celtic!

Wake up!!

I'm afraid they just did

Exactly. Last season he played much worse but this season he is much more stable. We don't have another keeper that even close to his class.

Anyway we will win this game for sure. 2:0 with Gila scoring one of the goals.

ehm ... Some ppl actually believe Storari is better Lost cause, if u ask me

Were just saying that maybe Dida's intentions aren't in the right place. He is moving to barcelona garunteed. So he might just think that he can take it easy and not give a shiet. What better than to please barca and kick milan out of CL for next year eh? Well lets just hope its not liek that and hes got milan pride burning within him

05/03/2007 4.38
Nakamura Warns Celtic About Milan Antics Shunsuke Nakamura has warned his Celtic team-mates to be careful of AC Milan’s antics during Wednesday’s Champions League second leg at the San Siro Stadium.
The two teams fought out a 0-0 draw two weeks ago in Glasgow in the second round tie, and the midfielder who spent three years in Serie A with Reggina, is hoping that a strong referee is in charge of the game.
The inspirational playmaker was not surprised that Alberto Gilardino was booked for diving in the first leg and wants similar officiating on Wednesday.
"Before the Milan game at Celtic Park I warned Stephen McManus and Darren O'Dea not to dive in from behind with tackles on Gilardino,” the Japanese international told the Sunday Mail.
“I knew he would go to ground easily - that's the way he is. That's the way all Italian strikers are. He is a good player - clever when it comes to being in and around the box, if you know what I mean. We will have to be careful of this in the San Siro. Giving away free-kicks around the area will be dangerous because of Andrea Pirlo's skill from that distance.
"I just hope we get a strong referee who doesn't stand for any cheating. I know from my time in Italy that it goes on.
"We've had good officials so far in the Champions League and will need another one on Wednesday."
Nakamura has never won during his six visits to the San Siro but knows that thanks to away goals, a draw could be enough for Celtic.
"If we are treated fairly we have a good chance of getting a result. If we can score first it will give us a great advantage. But even if Milan score first we still only need one goal to go through to the quarter-finals.
"I've played at the San Siro against AC Milan and Inter and the best result I got was a draw.
"Knocking out a team like Milan would be my greatest achievement in football.
"People will be sitting up in Japan watching the game at 3am and I hope to make it worth their while.
"To get a good result we must make sure we do not allow Kaka and Pirlo to play freely. Neil Lennon and Evander Sno looked after them well in the first game and we'll have to do the same."

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=248561

Gila wary of Celtic threat

Milan striker Alberto Gilardino has warned his teammates against underestimating Celtic in their Champions League tie on Wednesday.

The Rossoneri go into the second leg as favourites, having held the Scottish club to a goalless home draw two weeks ago, but the former Parma man knows that the clash will not be an easy one.

“We must not underestimate Celtic and we won’t, they have been playing well this year and have won a lot,” said Gilardino.

“This will be a very important game for us, we have to try to score and win,” added the world champion, who was pleased with UEFA’s decision to confirm San Siro’s full capacity of 67,500 for the match.

“Hopefully, we will have the full support of our fans, we need them. Supporters are fundamental and really important to us.”

Milan earned an important win 3-1 over Chievo on Saturday, when they managed to come back after conceding a goal to the Verona-based side thanks to a howler by goalkeeper Nelson Dida.

“I am pleased I scored the equaliser, it was important in helping us turn the game around. This is an important result in view of the match with Celtic.

“We are still alive and our morale is good, we showed strength and the necessary determination to come back from a goal down,” concluded Gilardino.

The Rossoneri, who have not lost in 14 matches and are sixth on the table with 40 points, three points shy of a Champions League spot.


Channel4

Two days to go for this tie ... I cant wait

Goal.com

According to this circumstances it could be real thriller game if Celtic will somehow grab a goal. Remember Milan - Ajax, 2002/2003? CL 1st knockout round away 0:0, and then at home -> 3:2 for Milan after Pippo's goal in additional time?

Yeah .. But that was in the quarter finals ... I doubt Celtic have the means to progress any further. On paper the haver no chance against Milan .. And on their turf, we should have score 3 goals !!

So I dont think it will be a dramatic tie, nor will it be a high scoring game ... We will pass them and move to the next stage with ease

Whatever respect I had for him is now lost.

Steriotyping every Italian player because of a dive is just stupid.

Yes Gila dived but so what??!! It's part of football and saying that only Italians do it is wrong.
If Jorasik hadn't made that awful dive against Man U to get the free kick then they would have never progressed to this stage to begin with.

He should really take a look at his own team before running his mouth off, and he shouldn't be one to speak either, since he goes down faster then SIMONE Inzaghi at times

guys, dont be so sure about this match.
I mean we are the favouritues and probably we'll win, but dont forget that there's a lot of pressure on the players.
Its the only trophy that Milan can win this year and its a MUST-WIN match.
And, much worse the history of last 3-4 years tells that exaclty these kind of matches (after a 0-0 away-draw) seems to be the hardest.

I would love so much to be crowned champions this year (actually more than ever), because of many problems that we had. And I dont want to wake up from that dream against Celtic.

Same here, what does this guy think he is ?
Only achievement in his life was probably joining Celtic and nothing else

Probable line ups from Milan channel for tomorrows game

Oddo--Bonera--Maldini--Janku
------Rino---Pirlo---Ambro-----
--------------Kaka---------------
-----------Gila--Pippo-----------

or

Oddo--Bonera--Maldini--Janku
-----Rino---Pirlo---Ambro------
--------Kaka---Seedorf---------
------------Pippo----------------


I really don't like either one of those. And if we do play with them we'll probably have tosweat blood before we can actuall score a goal.

The team we should play with is

Oddo--Bonera--Maldini--Janku
-----Rino---Pirlo---Seedorf-----
-------------Kaka----------------
--------Oliveira--Pippo----------

i would play oli and gila from the start and bring pippo 70th min in the second.

I think Pippo is a better option.

If another chance like the one Gila had in Glasgow comes, we can't afford to miss it, that's why I would play with Pippo

I dont think we should play Seedorf in this one. As you remember in Celtic the game started out in a cosmic speed, and Seedorf, with his slow moves and passes would have never been able to fit in.

Playing Oli - Pippo is a good option, but I am not sure if Pippo will be able to play full 90 mins. So we should start with Oli - Gila, and then 60 minutes into game we should replace Gila with Pippo.

Oh MALDINI is playing?

I agree but put Gila instead of Pippo cuz I don't think he is fully fit yet. We can put him in half time if we won't score until that time. But Seedoef must play as he always does well in big games.

Oddo believes in qualification

Milan defender Massimo Oddo is certain that the Rossoneri will succeed in qualifying for the Champions League quarter-finals.

The San Siro club host Celtic on Wednesday following the 0-0 first leg draw and the World Cup winner has no doubts that his side will triumph.

“Milan are Milan, we are playing at home and have all the credentials needed to progress to the next round,” said Oddo.

“Celtic don’t have an impressive squad. They play very well at home, but away from home they are not irresistible,” continued the former Lazio man.

“Milan are superior and I am sure we can qualify for the last eight.”

Oddo has also defended Ronaldo, who has not always been at his best so far since joining the club at the end of January.

“It isn’t easy to swap clubs during the season, you can encounter some difficulties,” declared the defender, who himself arrived after Christmas.

“He has great qualities and an undeniable class. He just needs to adapt to this squad and then he will give his contribution.

"Ronaldo cannot be doubted as a player.”

Football Italia

Well it's not like Pippo is the best of finishers... and this has not been a good season for him so far. We'll see...

Why isn't Seedorf playing?? Is there some problem with him?

Bonera will play next to Maldini?? Lucky b!tch!!

damn right!

It depends on the formation Carlo will play.

According to Milan Channel, if it is a xmas tree then he will play next to Kaka, if we go with 2 strikers it will most likely be Ambro in midfield with Rino and Pirlo.

I really think Seedorf should play in this one, a couple of games with his @ss situated on the bench did him well, you could see how determined he was when he came on against Chievo. Plus we need his experience and creativety if we want to kill the tie as fast as possible.

And yes, Pippo is not the bst of finishers but until Gila over comes his mental barrier that seems to come up when he plays in the CL, then I would rather have Pippo playing instead of him.

And Oli needs to start, even if he won’t score his speed and dribbling ability will run riot in the static, inexperienced Celtic defence

good point!

Ok, so instead of mental barrier we’ll call it the ‘Terry Henry choking syndrome‘

That's the syndrome where Terry chokes Henry??

Well... Henry has always been great in the group stages and last year he proved he can be decisive in big matches too. He now only chokes in finals... it IS a step forward!

Henry is a late bloomer, aaw! How sweet!

Press Kit - http://www.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competit.../e_85505_pk.pdf

Thanks mike

Hey did you guys know that our heaviest home defeat ever was 2-0?

Official call-ups for the game, from the AC Milan website:

MILANELLO - Ecco l'elenco ufficiale.
PORTIERI: Dida, Kalac, Storari.
DIFENSORI: Cafu, Maldini, Costacurta, Simic, Jankulovski, Favalli, Bonera, Oddo.
CENTROCAMPISTI: Gattuso, Seedorf, Gourcuff, Pirlo, Kakà, Ambrosini, Brocchi.
ATTACCANTI: Ricardo Oliveira, Inzaghi, Gilardino.

Celtic clash vital, says Gattuso

Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso rates Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Celtic as the most important game of the season so far.

The Rossoneri were held to a goalless draw in the first leg and the former Rangers man is aware of what is at stake at the San Siro tomorrow night.

“There is no doubt that it will be a memorable night. This match is the most important one of our campaign and it won't be easy to forget that,” said Gattuso to Il Corriere dello Sport.

“It’s a very delicate encounter and we have to face it with a winning mentality. The Scottish side will be dangerous and will never give up.

“I believe we can turn the dream into reality, qualifying for the quarter-finals would confirm that we are one of the strongest sides in Europe.”

Milan will start the tie as favourites, but Ringhio has requested that the Rossoneri supporters turn out in force.

“I want to call on our tifosi,” he added. “My teammates and I want to see a full Meazza as their encouragement can help us in this difficult match.”

The northern giants have had a problematic campaign, but normality seems to be returning to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

“Milan are even better and more amazing than in the past,” added the Italian international.

“This team has managed to overcome enormous difficulties at the start of the season, mainly because it is strongly equipped, proud and brave.

“Furthermore, our Coach has created a group of players who are willing to do their duty for Milan and the results are evident.”

Football Italia