On
Sunday, the purple army from Firenze marches into the San Siro. Flying a little
bit under the radar, they are more dangerous than they might seem at first. Without
any real fanfare, they have crept up into fourth in the league and look
increasingly dangerous each match. Under the careful guidance of Vincenzo
Montella, la Viola look to invade the San Siro tomorrow and take no prisoners…
or concede any goals, either.
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| This guy seems familiar... but is he vengeful? |
Just as we now harbor their former captain, Riccardo Montolivo, there will likely be a familiar face amongst their ranks. The perpetually loaned orphan, Alberto Aquilani, was finally given a permanent home in Firenze this season. Having come off of a recent injury and subbing on for a few minutes last week, he looks to make his first start against his team from last year, our substantially weakened Milan side. Let’s just hope revenge is not in his nature, because after the way he was treated here, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind wounding us in return.
On
the flip side, Fiorentina will be without a very important face: Stevan
Jovetic. Jovetic suffered an injury against Cagliari last week, and will be out
for at least two weeks. Although he will be sorely missed, along with his 6
goals and 3 assists so far this season, the Viola have other weapons. Weapons
like Luca Toni, who with 3 goals already in 8 appearances, looks to be
returning to his former Fiorentina scoring machine self. Or the ever dangerous
Adem Ljajic, who also has a goal and two assists so far this season.
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| No, it's not GQ, he's just trying to guess Allegri's lineup |
Stastically,
Fiorentina are a very strong team. They have only failed to score once in 11
league matches and have joint most clean sheets, with five so far. Only Napoli
have conceded fewer goals than them, with la Viola conceding only 8 goals thus
far. They have scored 16, so we truly must be prepared for battle if we have
any hope of even maintain a point.
When
Fiorentina welcomed Cagliari last Sunday, Montella lined up Viviano; Gonzalo,
Tomovic, Roncaglia; Valero, Romulo, Pizarro, Llama, Cuadrado: Jovetic, and Toni.
With their resounding 4-1 defeat of Cagliari, I’m sure Montella will replace
Jovetic and add Aquilani, but I would be surprised if he made too many more
changes.
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| Not sure if constipated or trying to figure out another unique lineup |
Meanwhile,
I have no idea in the world what Allegri will do. With fifteen
unique lineups in fifteen matches, my time would be better spent predicting
the precise location of an electron than trying to predict which formation and
lineup he will field tomorrow. Suffice it to say that Bonera is available, so
that is a given, but which position will he play? With Pato’s goal on Tuesday,
will he chance fate and start him again? I don’t even think a fortune teller
could give us the right answer. I would like to say that he won’t play Abate,
since he was injured on Tuesday, but considering that Allegri let him start
anyway after being injured in warmups, even that is not guaranteed. And whether
or not he starts Robinho after his injury may or may not be influenced by how
many match balls are available to send into the stands.
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| We love you, too, Pato, but does Allegri? |
Will
we fight the good fight and resist the purple invasion? The answer to that
depends largely on Allegri’s formation and lineup. If he sticks with the
4-2-3-1 and many of the same players that have been suddenly gelling, we have a
fighting chance. If not, all we can hope for is some sort of 10-0-0 formation
and try not to concede and hold out for the point. I hope both coaches lineup
their best and all of the players play well and let it all be decided on the
pitch, as it should be. If we can successfully stave off the Purple Invasion,
and with a little luck, even steal a goal or two, we stand a chance to
significantly improve our position in the league. With the current league scoring
leader on our side, we might just stand a chance. It’s your call, Allegri. Do
the right thing.
This post inspired by the music of
The Strokes
Milan vs. Fiorentina
Sunday, November 11 • 15:00 CET (9am ET)
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