Riding the wave of three wins in a row, Milan face a new challenge
in their house on Saturday in the form of La
Dea, or The Goddess. Atalanta
haven’t exactly been playing like a goddess, though, coming off of being
blanked by Donadoni’s 18th place Bologna 3-0 last week. Their form is good
enough to have them still in eighth place, but that is miraculously below sixth
place Milan. And while they were disgraced by Bologna last week, they will
undoubtedly be determined to not to be made a meal of again. So beware of
Atalanta, also known as leftover Bologna.
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| The Punisher |
Atalanta are playing as one would expect this season, making mincemeat
of the teams below them and being creamed by most of the bigger teams. Well
except Lazio, they did beat Lazio the week before their Bolognese humiliation.
Against Bologna, Reja lined up Sportiello; Stendardo, Masiello, Bellini,
Paletta; de Roon, Carmona, Kurtic; D’Alessandro, Gomez, and Denis. And yes,
that is our old Paletta, the one who wanted a first team spot, so abandoned us
for Atalanta. Additionally, we always have to worry about the threat of German
Denis, and perhaps also Pinilla. But we won’t have to worry about Suagher, who
is out with a long-term injury. Dramé and Estigarribia are also doubts as to
fitness, but will likely play as of this writing.
Mihajlovic, on the other hand, will be paying a
high price for our victory against Lazio on Sunday. Bonaventura is out
suspended for card accumulation. And Bertolacci has been ruled out, I assume
Montolivo and Alex will be as well, although I have not heard for certain yet.
Also, Abate is still injured. Additionally, Diego Lopez has been suffering from
a knee problem for some time and will have to sit out for a while to let it
heal. Balotelli is still not back in action yet, and we know Menez will be out
until at least January if not February. There is some doubt about both Bacca
and Cerci, but I expect them both to be fit. And Niang was on the bench for
Lazio, here’s hoping he is able to play a cameo and get a few minutes at least,
especially with so many others out.
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| Will we see a little Niang in this match? |
So if you look at this match and think “easy win,” think
again. They may be below us on the table now, but only just, and after being
served some cold lunchmeat last week,
they will be ready to have a hot performance against Milan on Saturday. We are
missing so many starters that it is hard to imagine that we can replicate last
week’s performance, let alone get a fourth consecutive win. In fact, we’ll be
lucky to not play like last week’s leftover bologna.
This post inspired by the music of
Lush’s “Ladykillers”
Milan vs. Atalanta
Saturday, November 7 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)
This match will be shown LIVE on RAI and BeIN Sports
Callups for Saturday:
GOALKEEPERS: Abbiati,
Donnarumma, Livieri (97)
DEFENDERS: Antonelli, Calabria,
De Sciglio, Rodrigo Ely, Mexes, Romagnoli, Zapata
MIDFIELDERS: De Jong, Josè
Mauri, Kucka, Montolivo, Nocerino, Poli, Suso
FORWARDS: Bacca, Cerci, Honda,
Luiz Adriano, Niang
Official Lineups:
Milan (4-3-3): Donnarumma;
De Sciglio, Mexes, Romagnoli, Antonelli; Kucka, Montolivo, Poli; Cerci, Bacca,
Niang
Milan bench: Abbiati,
Livieri, Calabria, Ely, Zapata, De Jong, Jose Mauri, Nocerino, Suso, Honda,
Luiz Adriano
Atalanta (4-3-3): Sportiello; Raimondi,
Paletta, Toloi, Dramè; Grassi, De Roon, Cigarini; Maxi Moralez, Pinilla, Gomez
Atalanta bench: Bassi,
Masiello, Iacopin, Bellini, Conti, Brivio, Stendardo, Migliaccio, Carmona,
Kurtic, D'Alessandro, Denis