It’s official, Pescara are mathematically relegated. But
there are still three matches for them to play, and hosting Milan on Wednesday is
one of them. The Dolphins may be dead in the water, but I’m sure they wouldn’t
mind creating waves for Milan as we strive for a Champions League spot. There
is also the Milan audition of one Mattia Perin, the young goalkeeper who will
be returning to Genoa (who own him) and therefore available in the mercato.
Having conceded 52 goals this season, nothing would please him more than a
clean sheet at this point (he has actually kept 4 clean sheets), which would
not only keep Milan’s scorers off the board, but put our third place dreams at
risk again. So it begs the question… which team will actually be swimming with
the fishes after this match?
Pescara’s hopes and dreams of Serie A glory this season were
possibly dashed by their belief in a false savior – they literally have a
keeper on their roster called Salvatore Falso. It was either this or the poor
management of the club. (or maybe both?) After Zeman capitalized on the talents
of Verratti, Immobile, and Insigne to bring Pescara into Serie A for the first
time in 19 years, Pescara let all of them go. With Cristian Bucchi being their
third coach of the season, and only a fraction of the talent they had last
season to win Serie B, relegation was not just a possibility, but a
probability.
However, they were very kind to Milan. For Milan’s 113th
birthday, they gave us not just one, but two own goals to help us to our
4-1 win over them in December. I doubt they can afford to be so generous to
us again, but I wouldn’t complain, either. On Sunday, they lost 4-1 to Genoa,
with Perin facing off against the team who owns him and dutifully taking four
goals. Meanwhile, former Genoa star Giuseppe Sculli reminded them of what they
were missing by scoring Pescara’s only goal against them. For Sunday’s match,
Bucchi lined up Perin; Zanon, Capuano, Balzano, Cosic; Cascione, Sculli, Rizzo,
Togni, Di Francesco; and Sforzini. He’s dealing with a number of long-term
injuries, too, so this lot is probably the best he’s got.
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| Perin let his buddy El Shaarawy score on him before, will he again? |
Milan cannot really afford a misstep on Wednesday, but are
feeling the weight of the end of season injury crunch. Having missed Montolivo
severely on Sunday, Ambrosini was back in training on Monday. His availability
could be crucial, but I wonder if Allegri will risk him ahead of Sunday’s match
home to Roma. Or could he risk fielding the young Cristante? I am not sure if
his back is far enough up against the wall to risk a 20 year-old at that
position with so much at stake.
Other injuries include De Sciglio and Bonera, one being
relevant and the other probably more likely to heal and be available, with our luck. Despite being quite exposed vs. Torino without Montolivo in front of
them, I would expect an Abate-Mexes-Zapata-Constant back line again on
Wednesday. Allegri will throw whatever players with good physiques into the
midfield. Up front, he has a conundrum, as his star mezz’ala striker
Boateng is suspended for this match. So he will have to either start Pazzini,
Niang, Bojan, or Robinho alongside Balotelli and hopefully El Shaarawy. My bet
is on the least likely to score this season playing 90 minutes: Robinho. Only
because that’s how Allegri rolls. While Pazzini and Balotelli both seem to want
to play together, and fans are drooling at the prospect of this combination, considering
he only played Pippo-Ibra out of necessity and that he’s actually got other
options, I am not holding my breath for the Pazzo-Balo combo.
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| Only Allegri can keep them apart |
The most important thing about this match will be staying
focused and not making mistakes. Or as Allegri likes to put it, not making too
many mistakes. Also, not playin like we have concrete shoes would be helpful. It
will be so important to win this match and take the three points, as it has
been voted the most likely match for Milan to win in our last three matches by both
statistics and fans alike. According to Galliani Math™, we need to win two of
our last three matches now to ensure our third place berth, so it would be
clever of us to take three points away from Pescara. Otherwise our Champions
League hopes might just go swimming with the fishes.
This post inspired by the music of
Agent Orange
Pescara vs. Milan
Wednesday, May 8 • 18:00 CEST (12noon EDT)
This match is being shown LIVE on BeInSport
(check comments ahead of the match for stream links)
The Milan-Torino Match Review can be found here
The Milan-Torino Match Review can be found here