There is
some very heavy rain in parts of Italy this weekend, and Sampdoria-Roma was
already cancelled because of it. It’s definitely raining very heavily in
Rome, threatening our game, too. But even if the weather permits our match to
be played, the torrential rain is not the only storm we face on Sunday
afternoon. Lazio and the other Inzaghi are waiting for us, waiting to prey on
our newly formed squad and pick us apart like the Aquile that they are. So even if the rain slows down, Lazio won’t.
And it will be Milan’s job to weather the storm.
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| Well that's one way to face the rain |
Before
the break, Lazio pulled out a 2-1 win over Chievo, even if their winner was
scored in the 89th minute. But for that match, Simone Inzaghi lined up
Strakosha; de Vrij, Radu, Wallace, Milinkovic-Savic, Parolo, Lucas, Lulic,
Basta, Immobile, and Luis Alberto. It appears that Inzaghi could be without
both Felipe Anderson and Djordjevic due to injury. However he will have Nani
available, signed on a loan on the last day of the transfer market. Nani is on
the way out of the Portuguese national team, while Milan have a young
Portuguese player that Cristiano Ronaldo himself said was Portugal’s future.
Speaking
of Milan, we have something Lazio might be missing… their former captain, Lucas
Biglia. I’m going to guess that the Lazio faithful will not be giving him a
joyful welcome. Of course Montella will be missing Conti due to a sprained
ankle, and Paletta may or may not be available. José Sosa will unfortunately
not be available Sunday or any other day this season, because he is now on loan
to Trabzonspor.
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| "Hey, Lazio, I told you we were breaking up. Don't pretend you didn't hear me" |
Now is
where Montella will start feeling the storm. With 17 players who went out on
national team duty and a Europa League group stage match this coming Thursday, he
has to choose a strong squad, but keep in mind rotation of his players. Beating
Lazio will be worth more than 3 points, because it would take 3 points from a
team that finished above us last year. But we also have to keep something in
the tank for Thursday.
Going to
the Olimpico and facing Lazio is always tough. But Milan have the extra
competition to remember this time, and most of the team just returning from
playing and traveling, too. If the game is not called off, the weather is
likely to be very wet, and those are the kinds of games where anything can
happen. It wouldn’t be a natural disaster if we lost, and would be almost like
sunshine if we manage a draw, especially away. But if Milan can simply weather
the storm and pull off all three points, then we will head into our Europa
League fixture with blue skies.
This post inspired
by the music of Diana Krall’s “Blue Skies”
Serie A Week 3
Lazio vs. Milan
Sunday, September 10
• 15:00 CEST (9am EDT)
This match will be
shown on BeIN Sports in the U.S.
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