After a disappointing although somewhat expected 1st leg loss to Inter midweek. Milan need all their attention on today’s league game vs Spezia. At the time of this writing Lazio dropped points yesterday and Milan could draw to just 1 point back of them with a win today. Time to go get it…
LAST FIVE
MILAN (5th): LWDDW
SPEZIA (18th): LLLDL
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Hernandez (C), Tomori, Kjær, Kalulu; Tonali, Pobega; Rebic, Diaz, Saelemaekers; Origi
SPEZIA (3-5-2): Dragowski; Nikolaou, Wisniewski, Ampadu: Reca, Bourabia, Esposito, Ekdal, Amian; Gyasi(C), Nzola
TIME: 12pm EST/5pm GMT
PLACE: Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye and Canada, BeIn for our Aussie pals, ESPNPlay for our fellas in T&T, JioTV for our Indian leoni, and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Ok, with only 4 league games left and Milan sitting on the outside looking in on the top 4, if Milan have any hope to move up from their current 5th position in the table then all 3 points today are pretty much a must.
I’ll be honest in saying that I have no idea what Spezia’s preferred style of playing is, but with them currently occupying one of the relegation spots in the table, 3 points back from safety (or at least 3pts from being in a tie with Hellas Verona on points), then they can’t really afford to pack it in and play for a draw. So while teams battling for survival may present problems for other top teams. as Lazio needed a very late stoppage time goal just to salvage a point at home vs Lecce yesterday, a minnow opening up from a usual defensive posture will undoubtedly help a creativity-deprived Milan roster.
If Spezia does decide to pack it in, as bottom tables are usually happy to do vs top of the table teams, then we all know what that does to Milan as we’ve all gotten used to seeing the slog that is Milan playing teams who parking the bus. With that in mind, I expect to see CDK or Adli get some minutes today. If Brahim does indeed start he surely won’t finish the game after playing all 90 minutes vs Inter midweek and taking an absolute beating because the ref was dogsh*t in that game. I expect it will be CDK of the two but it wouldn’t surprise me if both play some minutes.
Leão is still expected out as is Bennacer, who injured some cartilage in his knee and is out until next season. The predicted lineup by FotMob is a little strange so won’t say much about that, but one thing I will say is that Kalulu is expected back in the lineup for Calabria and that is a good thing for today. What worries me is that Pioli is saving Calabria for Inter and that’s going to be a disaster…again. But we can discuss that further next week.
Finally and most importantly, just like Spezia, a draw does very little to help Milan in their goal of a top 4 finish. Pioli needs to know this and go all out. Press hard. Points matter first, goal differential second, so risk losing by playing ultra aggressive and trust your Calabria-less backline can keep the Spezia goals to a minimum.
In Pioli I trust, even now, and I think Milan bring home all 3 points today.
Forza Milan
gillis