Form Guide: Milan (D L - - -) Udinese (W W - - -)

Last season: Milan 4-4 Udinese

Stat fact: This was the fixture of the 2010-11 season, as Milan fought back from 3-1 down to draw 4-4 in an epic thriller. It was no fluke, as in the last six San Siro meetings there have been a total 35 goals.

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This one should be a win. Can't remember last time Milan went for 4 matches without a win in a row.

Why on Earth wasn't El Shar called up? Seeing as our attacking options are nonexistent?

That's the prediction from Gazzetta. Allegri, still hasn't announced his list

Ambrosini is out for another 30 days, Boateng for 10 days, Flamini for 140 days, Gattuso for 7 days, Robinho & Ibrahimovic for 4 days

Pippo will be a nice add. But why not play Taiwo?

Robinho and Ibra should be back this weekend, hopefully Boateng will be available for the Champions League match next week. Those are the only players I care about of our injury list, that can make a difference.

No idea what's going on with Taiwo? The guy has been fit for almost a week now, yet Allegri doesn't play him. At least sit him on the bench.

Yet another tough match. We've had a really hard start to this season. I suspect a draw in this one.

What mistakes? We simply didn't play that match. It wasn't a matter of mistakes, it was a matter of concentration and determination, which we totally lacked.

ZAMPARINI: "Nocerino? Milan is now that poor that only buys players without contract, where do you think Montolivo will play next season?"

EL SHAARAWY: "I'm ready for Udinese"

Milan, along with De Rossi.

Damn it, Robi.

He's so much more valuable to us than Cassano and even Pato are. I can't wait for Zlatan and Robinho to be our attack agan. Then we will play good again and win our games.

It think we should give Cassano a slack - he may not have been "that good" but in 3 matches he made 1 goal and 2 assists.

I'm concerned about this match. Udinese are strong, and could beat us by countering us I fear...

Unless Allegri managed to do an amazing job in the few days he had...

Having Zambrotta on the left and resting Nesta is a good step.

We gained Zambrotta and have to rest Nesta...

Plus we're missing at least another 3 to 4 starters. This season has started out very rough for us.

@ chu, I can't see him having fixed the issues that have cropped up in defence since he's basically had no time. I'm just hoping that we have a game plan that does not involve camping in the Udine half and getting constantly caught out on the counter

I trust in Yepes being a good defender. This can't be an excuse. If we lose, it's not because of missing Nesta. Allegri better do the right thing this time. I felt disgusted when watching our last match.

Squad for the game:

Abbiati, Amelia, Roma, Abate, Nesta, Taiwo, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta, Yepes, Aquilani, Emanuelson, Nocerino, Seedorf, Valoti (57), Van Bommel, Casano, El Shaarawi, Inzaghi, Pato.

No Bonera and Antonini and Pippo returns.

With this squad (supposing that everyone is fit) I'd play like this :



But knowing Allegri, I guess we'll play like this :

Nesta already looks tired

I like Cassano a zillion times more as a sub than as a starter. I don't want to take away such great weapon and get a meh preformance in return. The line-up I posted is just the official paper work with our 4-3-1-2, on pitch I want to see it be like this: (obviously fullbacks will go forward, especially Taiwo should)

Mexes will be back soon, and Nesta can rest whenever he wants.

Playing Seedorf would be a big mistake. He currently has a problem at the knee cartilage, it would be his third game in seven days and more importantly, he's been crap in the previous two games. I'd rather play Emanuelson even though I don't particularly fancy him in midfield.

We're never going to play a 4-2-3-1, and I don't believe we have the players to do it. Sticking Urby in the midfield is also a waste because I can't see him doing anything. He might be quick but he adds zero to our game.

personally I'd go with the proposed 4-3-1-2, Aquilani in the midfield 3, El Shaa behind Pato and Cassano.

Pippo won't start but he'll be a great asset coming off the bench

Personally the least I'm worried about is the selected players. It's clear that the problem is the approach and game plan not the selected players

Lazio, Barcelona draws were good in respect to the fact it was the first two games, the Napoli defeat due to the fact the squad is depleted and it was in san paolo we can all forgive(just).

But ... this week anything short off 6points against udinese and cesena could be a cause for concern... time to start winning, as napoli and juventus arent showing any signs of complacency

FORZA MILAN

Completely agree with you

But I'm not worried, certainly not about Napoli or Juve. They will both linger away as the season progresses imo. The CL is too much of a load on Napoli. While Juve I have no faith in to do well this season, even if they spent a bagillion on a new squad. It's the same thing as last season if you ask me.

I would be tempted to go with this, with the players available, Urby and El add pace, as does pato. It would also allow us to drop aquilani back to midfield and create a 4-3-3. Or Urby also for a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.

We do not have a lot of options just now. Going to be a tough game.

Allegri really needs to show if he can adapt/react and plan for opponents on a game by game basis instead of just hoping his favoured formation/starting 11 will somehow by luck or crook get us by.

Honeymoon is well and truely over Allegri.

I can't agree with you there. Only the Lazio draw was good in terms of game expressed. We should have won that game by a mile.

The Camp Nou draw was good in terms of result but we expressed no game at all. We got shackled by Barça to our own half for the entire match, and we were lucky Silva's header saved our butts. But I would take it any way, since it was Barça we were playing after all, and we had no Ibra + Boateng's injury hurt us bad.

The loss to Napoli was a complete disgrace. I have no excuses for our players nor the coach. We're still able to field a competitive eleven despite our injuries. It's like han says, it's not the selected players but the approach to the game what really matters. We simply didn't care about the game, that's what annoys me the most.

If were lucky we'll draw this game, I can't see us winning. We need our Ibra and robbie back

Naah, I don't fall for it; we are Milan and we should win. Just like Arsenal did against Udinese, even with that team. 4 games without a win would be devastating.

Whose gonna score? or better yet, whose gonna create the chances to score?

Cassano already has 2 assists. Aquilani is also capable. We have El Shaaraway as well.

I doubt it, Udinese play a similar style to Napoli.

We'll have a similar game as before unless we decide to change tactics and sit back.

And? We could have easily defeated Napoli if we wanted to. The players just didn't care about the game. We have plenty of players to create and score, from Aquilani to Cassano and Pato. I hope Allegri has given them a good talk, I want to see a change of attitude tomorrow evening.

Yeah, right - sitting back against Udine? That's to much - Milan ain't that poor; Napoli was an off game and in many chases we made mistakes. Putting Zambrotta on the left and resting Nesta will make us more solid in defense. That's an important difference.

No, I'm 100% with Blue on this one, it's going to the same case again. It's pretty much unwise (or should I say idiotic) to do the same thing and expect a different results. Yes, there is an element of player motivationa, but right tactics can take care of that much smoother than giving the squad an aderlanie rush of sorts.

We are either going to play the game at our pace, or let Udinese play it at their terms. They are not Lecce or Cesana (even though we are well aware what these small sides can do), that we start playing cowboy with. We'll need a watergtight defense or a disastrous draw is the best we can manage. Nobody remember the 4-4? For a solid defense we need a midfield that can absort the pressure, not get run over.

Simply put we don't have the player due to injury (and what we do have are not cut for it) to go in and strangle Udinese in their half. Sure everyone can create, but what if that's the plan? What if Udinese want our creative players in their half so they can defend and counter? This game is very important, definitely the most important game thus far in our season. We gave Napoli the advantage last week, if we lose 2-3 points today, then this is going to give the other contenders a mouthwatering advantage - 1 point out of 9 is just not on. Same goes for 2 out of 9.

PS. By sitting back we don't mean play like a second teir club. I'm just saying play like a champion. An arrogant champion when it draws or loses does not look nearly as bad as a stupid champion. FACT.

Lola @ the n00b parade in here We're winning for sure. The only thing in doubt is the margin

The only player we don't have from our best possible midfield combination is Boateng, who is very important to us, but that doesn't mean we can't play a compact game with our current players. Personally, I think Van Bommel, Nocerino and Aquilani should always be starters. They are far better than Ambrosini, Gattuso and Seedorf in what they do nowadays. Again, I stress the concepts of mentality, concentration and determination. We must exhibit the mentality of a top club, by approaching the game with full concentration and the determination to win it. We have a far better team than Udinese, and even with our injuries, we can impose our game on theirs and prevail in the process. That's how a top club always behaves. We don't need to restrict our playing style because of them, it must be the opposite. However, if we act all calm and laid back like we did against Napoli, no matter the tactics or the individualities, we will always lose.

Quoted. For the record.


Yeah, this I agree with most of the post, particularly the two points above. Now, never did I once say we go calm and laid back. That's a sure fire way to get a pie in your face, even if you are Barcelona or Manchester United. Every player has to be at his peak, active and hustling. All three departments: defense, midfield and attack.

The only thing that changes is how to play the game, at your terms or theirs. I did maintain, even in the Napoli match, that player-for-player (bar Seedorf and Anotinin/Bonera) we still were better than Napoli and should not have lost their like we did. Same is the case with Udinese. But if we try something and it's not working, it's time we switch modes and gears during the match - not wait for the full show. Because Udinese will not hold back, they have been there on the fringes for the years, they are the high-mid-table club, and it's opportunities like these that they relish.

+1

Well, to almost everything.

We have no reference point in the middle of the park. No one there feels like a "top" player to carry this team and show them the way. Maybe Boateng, but he lacks the characteristics. The whole team is nervous. Robinho and Zlatan will make a huge difference IMO.

I can't believe some of the people who are being so harsh! We are missing Boateng, Zlatan and Robinho at the moment. Three key players and along with Silva, somewhat pillars of our success last year. And this is not toward the end of the season when the team has already gelled and is high on confidence.

But I believe the frustration comes more from having a relatively average squad compared to other big teams. How many 33+ year olds do we have only in midfield? It's frightening.

Agreed


Yep, Nesta has been struggling a bit, he's not going to be able to keep playing every 3 days. Hopefully Mexes will be available soon and that problem will be solved


Exactly. The 11 chosen is irrelevant, we'd still have a better first 11 out there then Napoli, Udine, etc. Even without all those players, there shouldn't be an excuse because we should have been able to at least win one of the 2 Serie A games we've played.

The attitude shown in the Napoli game is inexcusable. As for sitting back against Udine, no way!! Last season we never set back, we attacked and when we lost the ball we instantly pressed to win it back and not let the team counter us at will like they were doing at the beginning of last season and like they're doing now. If we set up to camp in there half aimlessly passing around until we lose the ball stupidly and let them hit us on the counter every few minutes then we will lose like we lost the Napoli game. Playing smart and with a good attitude is key, resorting to pusing Urby in there because he can run fast won't help anything. We need to have a smart game plan, execute it, without giving the opposing team chances to counter us

Just want to add, that I think this is the time we give the Faroe a chance, this could be a golden opportunity for him to step up. Seedorf cannot play again today, he's just down for the count atm, he's not fit enough and he can't handle another 90 minutes so personally I'd like to see us go for something like this



I think that's best line-up Allegri can put in given the circumstances.

You're confusing Egyptology with Geography again. I told you taking a Ph.D in both of them would end up working against you.

Pharaoh not Faroe. One is an Egyptian king, the other is Italy's b!tch in Euro qualifiers. And also a country.

Owned, Han! Caught by the Pirate!

I knew it looked wrong but didn't bother to double check, figured acid would be the usual stick up my @ss and point it out

I coulda been a contender, I could've been somebody. But Jack (of the pirating variety) beat me to it, while I was busy having lunch with friends. But anyway, the kid has a big chance to prove himself - even more so than last week. Seedorf would be crazy to start/play this game, and then the next at the weekend. It's going to be this or that.