Milan-Chievo Preview: Incoming

Team mascots are weird. One of the weirdest in Serie A has to be i Mussi Volanti, or the Flying Donkeys. I mean, what are they supposed to do to their opponents? Bray them to death? I always assumed that these Flying Donkeys were supposed to drop road apple bombs from the sky, forcing their opponents to yell “Incoming!”

Who needs Flying Donkeys when you have this guy?

Currently in 15th place on the Serie A table, Chievo are not exactly a crap team. But they are donkeys. That fly. Yet they are no Scudetto-hoarding zebras, either. They are, however coming off of a 1-0 Derby loss last weekend to Verona. Which means that with their eight days of rest, they will be pumped for revenge against our poor, tired legs. For their Derby, Maran lined up Sorrentino, Bani, Dainelli, Gobbi, Cacciatore, Inglese, Radovanovic, Birsa, Hetemaj, Castro, and Meggiorini. It appears he will have a full squad minus the injured Vignato to bring to the San Siro.

Gattuso not only has tired legs, he has injured legs. Most specifically, Romagnoli and Kalinic are added to the injury list along with Abate and Calabria. The good news, though, is that Conti was called up to sit on the bench. Meaning he might get a few minutes as a sub, he might not. Still so great to see him back on the bench after having been out most of the season with his ACL injury.

"Incoming!"

Playing at the San Siro with fans supporting them like they did even in their loss in London on Thursday will be a big boost. I guess all of them listened to the last podcast. Milan can’t afford to be complacent or expect the three points. After all, these are Flying Donkeys – nothing is safe. But it’s great to have some consistency and confidence again. And perhaps that will take Chievo by surprise. They may be hungry to stay clear of the relegation zone, but Milan are seriously hunting for that Champions League spot, and I think we want it more.

This post inspired by the music “Heffalumps and Woozles” from Winnie the Pooh

Serie A Week 29

Milan vs. Chievo

Sunday, March 18 • 15:00 CET (10am EDT)

This match will NOT be shown LIVE in the U.S.