Milan-Sassuolo Preview: Back to Work

After two disappointing results in two big and important games, Milan need to haul in as many points as possible from our remaining fixtures and pray for teams above us to choke… a lot… to have any hope of Champions League next season. One we don’t have any control over, but how many points we grab is completely up to us… and maybe a little to VAR, we’ll see. The point is, we have to get back to work and get back to winning. Every point counts at this point in the season.

Someone's ready to get back to work

Sassuolo have struggled a lot this year without Di Francesco, and with injuries, too. They currently sit in 15th on the table, in a three way tie on 29 points. Relegation is not completely out of the question for them. So they will be fighting for every point they can, too. Like on Wednesday, when they were down a goal and down to nine men, they managed to grab a goal late into stoppage time to steal a point. For that match, Iachini lined up Consigli; Acerbi, Dell’Orco, Goladniga, Adjapong, Lirola, Magnanelli, Missiroli, Cassata, Babacar, and Berardi. He will be missing Adjapong and Magnanelli, who both saw red on Wednesday, but I believe he will have a full squad otherwise. That squad includes Milan-killer Berardi, as well as exes like Matri and Acerbi who threaten to hurt us via the law of the exes.

Gattuso signed a contract renewal this week until 2021. Now he has to show why he deserves the faith of the club and fans worldwide. Despite the loss to Juve on Saturday and the draw to Inter midweek, he has the troops fired up and ready to go. Well except poor Conti, who just had a second surgery on his knee on Thursday in Rome and will not be back until September. Wednesday’s match was very physical and several players took knocks. But as of this writing, I have not heard of any new injuries, so hopefully we are good. There is also the issue of Silva’s grandfather having passed away, so there is a chance he may not be available. That will be as close to a full squad that we can hope for.

The Spaniard is always ready to work

This is a game that won’t be pretty (especially if we have to see Matri’s face,) but a game where three points is doable if we work hard and don’t lose focus. At the end of 90 minutes, playing at home, we should be able to celebrate. But we can’t take Sassuolo for granted or give them any opportunities, because they may be more desperate than us. Don’t look for beautiful football, just look for grit and determination. It’s time to get back to work.

This post inspired by the music of Sex after Cigarettte’s “Truly”

Serie A Week 31

Milan vs. Sassuolo

Sunday, April 8 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)

This match will be shown LIVE on RAI Italia and BeIn Sports in the U.S.