Milan vs. Palermo: Contemplation

With a loss that somehow was kind of like a win last week in the Derby, Mihajlovic is looking to string two good performances together. Palermo won their first two matches, but drew with relegation zone Carpi last week to put an end to their perfect start. So they will be contemplating how to take three points away, while Milan desperately need to beat the Sicilian side to get back on track this season.

Contemplation: "I used to win trophies at Milan, now they make me sweep the locker room at Palermo"

Milan will face their former player, Gilardino, as Palermo travel to the San Siro. But he will not be alone. Iachini will bringing his best players, including Rigoni, who is returning from injury. When they played Zaccardo’s new club Carpi last weekend, Iachini lined up Sorrentino; Vitiello, Gonzalez, El Kaoutari; Rispoli, Lazaar, Hiljemark, Quaison, Jajalo; Gilardino, and Vazquez. Bolzoni will not be making the trip due to injury.

Meanwhile, Mihajlovic indicated he’ll likely play the same team as last week while trying to displace the seventh place Palermo. However, he still has the injuries to Bertolacci, Antonelli, Menez, and Niang to contend with. Those who do start will need to play at least as well as last week to pull off a win, and finish even better in order to take all three points. Meanwhile, the defense will need to be wary of Gilardino. His inconsistency in scoring while at Milan means he will likely find the back of the net against Milan. Oh yeah, and that Vazquez guy, too. I’ve heard he’s a decent striker sometimes, too.

Defense Alert: This guy is annoyingly good

Both teams will want to play their best, and both have vested interest in winning this match. Palermo have historically proved problematic for Milan, while Milan are desperate to return to the top half of the table. While the game will play out on the pitch, like in a chess match, both sides will need to do some serious contemplation.

This post inspired by the music of Murray Head’s “One Night in Bangkok”

Milan vs. Palermo

Saturday, September 19 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)

This match will be broadcast by RAI and BeIN Sports in the US

Starting Lineups:

Milan: Lopez; Abate, Zapata, Romagnoli, De Sciglio; Kucka, Montolivo, Bonaventura; Honda; Bacca, Luiz Adriano

Milan Bench: Abbiati, Donnarumma, Alex, Calabria, Rodrigo Ely, De Jong, José Mauri, Nocerino, Poli, Suso, Balotelli, Cerci.

Palermo: Sorrentino; Struna, Gonzalez, El Kaoutari, Lazaar; Hiljemark, Jajalo, Chochev; Vazquez; Quaison, Djurdjevic

Palermo Bench: Colombi, Vitiello, Rispoli, Andelkovic, Goldaniga, Trajkovski, Cassini, Gilardino, Brugman, Maresca, Rigoni, Daprelà

  

Due to a steep decline in interest over the past several weeks as well as limited resources, the comment section will be closed for this match. (No, it is NOT due to territorial discrimination.)

When the comment section reopens with the next post, it will be on a trial basis. Should there be enough sustained interest, it will remain open, if interest and participation is still limited, it will be closed indefinitely. Thank you for your understanding.