First out of the gate for round 2 in Serie A (along with Udinese-Lazio but who cares about that!) and I couldn’t be happier to see Milan back out there. Coming off a disappointing draw at home vs Torino to open the season, Milan travel to newly-promoted…but familiar foe, Parma.
In what is being given the red carpet treatment here in the states with both teams being owned by Americans (ol’Gerry Cardinale for Milan and Kyle Krause for Parma), this game will be shown on one of the four major broadcasters in the United States – CBS. It’s going to be the first ever Serie A match broadcast on regular TV and will instantly become the most-watched Serie A game in US history. Undoubtedly a huge and exciting opportunity for Milan to grow it’s US fanbase.
As for the game itself, still some unknowns in this still-young season. What might we see? Well, let’s get started…
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
PARMA: DLWLW
MILAN: DWWWW
FORMATIONS
PARMA (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Coulibaly, Balogh, Circati, Valeri; Estévez, Bernabé; Man, (C) Sohm, Mihalia; Bonny
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; (C) Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernández; Musah, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leão; Okafor
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 12:30pm EST/5:30pm GMT
PLACE: Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
WHERE TO WATCH:
CBS/Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye (Spanish broadcast on Fox Deportes in the US); FuboTV and TLN for Canada; TNT in the UK (maybe?); ESPN for Mexico; DAZN for Germany, Austria, Switzerland; a website called Galaxy Racer(?) for our friends in India; and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
*Let us know if this needs updating or if you have additional broadcasters to add*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Well Fonseca-Ball kinda looked like Pioli-Ball in that first game, didn’t it?
As I mentioned in the Torino post-match post, Fonseca didn’t exactly endear himself to us Milanisi in the first game with that lineup and outcome but still a lot of time to figure out what we have in our new skipper. Doesn’t mean we can’t be critical and it’s important for Milan to scrape out some points while he’s figuring out this Milan squad. After all, we can be patient but not at the ultimate expense of seasonal goals.
Milan’s overall offensive play against Torino was stagnant and while I was critical on the double pivot job done by Bennacer and RLC, Chukwueze also had a terrible game. Granted, Milan didn’t attack down the right very much but when they did he was abysmal. His first touch failed him time and time again and unsurprisingly he started to lean on his favorite left foot, making it easy for the defenders to defend and dispossess him.
I’m on the record saying I think Chukwueze’s going to have a breakthrough season, and still believe he will, but I’m also content with making a change there should the performances warrant it. Ultimately guys need to produce…AND Fonseca needs to put these guys in positions where they can succeed. That leads us to the next thing…
What to do about the double pivot until Fofana is ready? Well, Fonseca started Bennacer and RLC last game with Reijnders not quite ready for 90 minutes and Fofana having just signed that day. Musah came in later and was an immediate upgrade. For me, my order/depth chart would be Reijnders, Fofana, Musah, Bennacer, and finally RLC (Pobega is heading to Bologna and Adli is likely out the door too). Right now the predicted lineup has Reijnders and RLC starting…
Reijnders starting should immediately solve the biggest issue last game and ACTUALLY be a conduit from the defense to the attackers and help generate some attacking football. Still, I would prefer Musah next to him and Bennacer/RLC to come in later if needed. Of course if Fofana has some minutes in his legs then let’s get him out there for a cameo.
There are a few other things to figure out, namely RB, what is the CB pairing, and who’s going to play striker. Let’s start with latter.
Morata sustained a muscle injury in practice and is out until after the international break in September. Jovic got the start last game but was mostly ineffective (again, not entirely on him with the subpar play of the double pivot and RW). Okafor came in late and volleyed home a banger of an equalizer and is currently penciled in as the starter in the predicted lineup. I’m 100% fine with this…in fact, I’m VERY happy about this and I hope it pans out.
Right now the predicted CB is Calabria and you all know I don’t want to see this so hopefully Royal is ready. As for the CB pairing, it’s looking like it’s going to be Tomori and Pavlovic. I’m good with this as it provides size and agility and options for either playing a high line or sitting back some.
As for Parma, I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about this current side. Obviously after being lost in the financial woods for a while, on top of trying to work their way back to the top flight, one thing I CAN say is that they’re going to be a scrappy bunch, especially playing at home vs a giant like Milan. Throw in a little bit of confidence after drawing vs Fiorentina in round 1 and Milan needs to be ready to fight.
As for predictions…
Lisi says: Milan win on TV here in the US. Pulisic scores. Clean sheet away to an outclassed Parma.
I’m going to go with a 2-1 win with Leão having a goal or assist…or as the betting community likes to say, TSOA.
Forza Milan
gillis
*Lineups posted. Happy with Pavlovic, Theo, Reijnders, Okafor, and Musah starting. Not happy to see Calabria and I’m wondering how can Royal not demonstrate he’s better than him after about 10 days of practice? Finally, I HATE seeing RLC as the CAM. If Chukwueze can’t produce and Saelemaekers isn’t able to be a viable option and Pulisic has to keep playing at RW, those guys are dead to me, LOL. Anyway, go get 3 points, boys…
**With Milan starting the weekend, there’s still going to be a lot of Serie A to go this round so be sure to check out Lisi’s Serie A Whip Around for round 2!