[HQ] Milan – Siena (22/8/2009)

This match presents Milan with an opportunity to possibly move ahead of Inter Milan (and Udinese and Napoli) and stand atop the Serie A table. However, Milan have a history of dropping points against the clubs which are considered to be smaller clubs, especially at home.

They began the season by losing at home against Bologna, and then lost again the next weekend away to Genoa. But they followed up those opening losses by winning five of the next six, and have moved to joint second place in the standings.

Milan cannot now lose focus, however. They played very poorly at the weekend, and were fortunate to come away from Bergamo by defeating Atalanta. Kakà scored the only goal of the match with just about ten minutes remaining. Atalanta had dominated the match and had the majority of the scoring chances.

Now facing Siena, they cannot let points get away, and must win this match; although, it is not going to be that easy. They are currently suffering from many injury problems, with the likes of Clarence Seedorf and Ronaldinho joining the list of players who are not fit.

The defense has been hit the hardest this season by injuries, as Alessandro Nesta has yet to make his first appearance of the season, while Kakha Kaladze and Philippe Senderos are long-term casualties as well.

The Task At Hand

Siena don’t have as serious of injury problems as Milan (many of their injured players are not first-choice), but they will not be entirely confident of getting a positive result from this match either. The Bianconeri have only picked up one point this season in away matches, and have only scored two goals on their travels.

Siena do have a recent history of giving Milan trouble, though. If not for Alberto Paloschi scoring just seconds after coming on the pitch to make his Serie A debut, they would have most likely earned a draw in this fixture last season. Also, they nearly defeated Milan in Siena last term, but Alessandro Nesta leveled the score just before the end of the match.

So, while they have struggled on the road this season, they will have memories of last season on their minds, and may well hold a grudge for the outcomes of those matches. This will serve as motivation for the players like Massimo Maccarone. Although he doesn’t score a lot of goals, he is the type of striker who can hit at any time, and usually plays well against Milan.

FORM GUIDE

Milan

02/10 (UEFA Cup): Zurich 0-1 Milan

05/10 (Serie A): Cagliari 0-0 Milan

19/10 (Serie A): Milan 3-0 Sampdoria

23/10 (UEFA Cup): Heerenveen 1-3 Milan

26/10 (Serie A): Atalanta 0-1 Milan

Siena

24/09 (Serie A): Siena 0-0 Sampdoria

28/09 (Serie A): Udinese 2-1 Siena

05/10 (Serie A): Siena 1-0 Roma

19/10 (Serie A): Genoa 1-0 Siena

25/10 (Serie A): Siena 1-1 Catania

TEAM NEWS

Milan

The Rossoneri are without numerous first team players due to injury. Mathieu Flamini, Ronaldinho and Gennaro Gattuso (although, he may be able to play on Wednesday) all sustained new injuries in the weekend victory against Atalanta, whereas Clarence Seedorf ruled himself out of contention just before the match. Kakha Kaladze, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo and Philippe Senderos are all out as well.

Marek Jankulovski is serving the mandatory one-match suspension for receiving a yellow card on Sunday.

Possible Formation (4-3-2-1): Abbiati; Zambrotta, Bonera, Maldini, Favalli; Gattuso, Emerson, Ambrosini; Kakà; Pato, Borriello

Siena

The Robur come into this match with many injury concerns, and they will be without their top two ‘keepers. Gianluca Curci is suspended and Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos is injured, so third-choice goalkeeper Emanuele Manitta steps between the sticks.

Gianluca Sansone, Nicola Belmonte, Daniele Ficagna, Manuel Mancini, Marcelo Larrondo and Brandao are out through injury.

Possible Formation (4-3-1-2): Manitta; Rossettini, Moti, Portanova, Del Grosso; Vergassola, Codrea, Galloppa; Kharja; Frick, Maccarone

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Milan

With Ronaldinho and Clarence Seedorf missing through injury, Kakà will be pulling the strings in attack all by himself. Marco Borriello will probably get the start in attack in front of Kakà, and his pass to the Brazilian on Sunday for the winning goal was a stroke of genius.

Siena

Massimo Maccarone is the one to watch for Siena, for sure―he likes to play against the big clubs. If Mario Frick is called upon to play alongside Maccarone in attack, he could be the difference makes, as Milan will lock in on Maccarone.

PREDICTION

It is not at all easy to predict an outcome for this match. Milan have capitulated at home against the supposed smaller sides this season, but Siena have not done well on their travels. This match presents a great opportunity to both sides: Milan could possibly take over first place in the standings, while Siena could move into the top half of the table with a win. Kakà usually plays well when he has the pressure on his shoulders, and that will be the case in this match. He will make the difference and earn Milan a victory.

Milan 2-0 Siena

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