Despite the happiness I feel from Milan hammering out five
wins in a row, my optimism for this match is pretty much none. Not only do we
face a Roma side who are only eight points off of the league leaders, they come
into this match with eight straight wins in a row. Despite some serious injury
issues, they’ve managed to show their quality and depth and push Juve to the
end for that Scudetto. How would we even compete with that? Add to that our
push for Europa League, which I think is a fool’s errand. So I say we fight and
play a good match – I would never advocate trying to lose – but at the end of
the day, I’m find if we throw the wolves a bone.
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| Don't mind if they win this one |
Roma’s latest victory
was against Fiorentina, and one goal was all they needed to take all three
points. For that match, Garcia lined up De Sanctis; Toloi, Dodó, Castan,
Maicon; Pjanic, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Ljajic, Totti, and Gervinho. Their
leading goal scorer, Destro, with 13 goals, sat that match and will sit out in
our match as well due to a ban for punching. Garcia will also be without
Balzaretti, Benatia, and Strootman due to long term injuries.
Their Talisman, Totti, aka the King of Rome, has been
leading their winning streak in spirit, even if with seven goals, he doesn’t
lead the team in scoring. With momentum, home advantage, and the best defense
in Serie A, having only conceded 19 goals all season, it’s hard to imagine a
scenario where Milan can top them.
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| The King of Rome needs his trophy |
However, oddly enough, Roma
conceded two of those 19 goals at the San Siro in December to Milan, so
don’t be too hasty to call this one. Maybe it was just a birthday present for
Milan to drop those two points and share the point with us, but the fact is
that even with Allegri’s indifferent facial expressions, we gave them trouble. With
an impressive winning streak under his belt and a lot to prove, Seedorf will
not be wanting to give these wolves anything. He is hungry, the players are
hungry, and if you believe the rumors, he’ll need to qualify for Europa League
if he is to stay this summer.
Seedorf will be missing De Jong to yellow card accumulation.
It is unclear whether or not Honda and Essien will be fit before Friday, but
they are both very doubtful. The rest of the squad remain to be seen, but I
believe Seedorf will absolutely go for the win with his lineups.
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| These two may have other plans for the wolves |
A Milan win is highly
improbable, and dropping three points when we are in pursuit of that sixth spot
will actually make me happy. Likewise, I don’t mind supporting Roma in their
hunt for the Scudetto, not just to frustrate our rivals Juventus, but also to
give Roma and Italy bandiere Totti and
De Rossi a much deserved trophy. I do want to see a good match, and ideally a
much improved performance. But at the end of the day, I would be fine if we
just throw the wolves a bone.
This post inspired by the music of
Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon” album
Roma vs. Milan
Friday, April 25th • 20:45 CEST (2:45 EDT)
This match will be broadcast LIVE on RAI and BeIN Sport in the US
Check comments for stream links ahead of match