One game under our belts against the Serie A runners up from
last seasons, and there is a lot of speculation about a lot of things. Surprisingly,
some fans are still incredibly optimistic about our chances for Friday’s match
against Roma. Perhaps it was Atalanta’s three goals against them this weekend in
the first half, or maybe they just didn’t see Roma’s comeback in the second
half to come away with a point. Or maybe they are not familiar with the story
of the boy who cried wolf, or what happened to his sheep when the wolf actually
showed up.
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| Gattuso's got the proverbial ball |
Di Francesco did not do for Roma last season what fans
probably hoped he would. But after making the jump from Sassuolo, he also didn’t
do too badly. They ended in third place in Serie A, while shockingly eliminating
Barcelona in the Champions League to make it to the semifinal. This year, they
are in the Champions League again, and will learn their fate in the Group Stage
later today. But we are more concerned with their Serie A form, which was the
3-3 draw vs. Atalanta on Monday.
For that match, Di Francesco lined up Olsen; Fazio, Manolas,
Kolarov, Florenzi, De Rossi, Pellegrini, our old pal Cristante, Dzeko, Pastore,
and Ünder. Florenzi sustained a knee injury in that match, and will likely not
be available. Perotti also has a sprained ankle and may not be available for
this match as of this writing. Strootman was sold this week to Monaco, so will
no longer be with the club.
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| N'zonzi made his Olimpico debut as a sub in Monday's fierce battle |
Gattuso will still be missing Strinic, who is out
indefinitely with a heart issue, and Conti will not be available until the
beginning of October. Zapata’s injury makes him uncertain as of this writing.
However, I believe everyone else is healthy at this point. Calhanoglu will
return after serving a one match suspension, which will give us a great boost. Gattuso has the wonderful
problem of choosing his starting eleven from a deeper bench than last season.
Another problem he faces, however, is that with so many players who are new to
Serie A, it’s easier to trust the players he relied on all last year. Rumors
say that Caldara may get the start ahead of Musacchio. That poor guy keeps
getting bumped just out of a starting berth. Aside from that, Higuain is the
only other new player who is most likely to start.
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| Will Gattuso put his trust in the young Caldara to start? |
If you listened to this
week’s podcast, we discussed Gattuso’s strengths and limitations, as
well as his tactical liabilities. While the team as a whole made many mistakes
against Napoli, I do feel that Gattuso’s stubbornness contributed to the loss.
So this match will be a great chance for everyone, players and coach alike, to
get a better result. Roma made some impressive moves in the transfer market,
even if they were unable to find a keeper that is remotely as talented as
Alisson was. Although this is the third place team from last year, they showed
some definite weaknesses against Atalanta. And they played two days later than
we did, so will not be as rested. Perhaps since we are also playing at the San
Siro, that will give us enough advantages to surprise them. Otherwise, no one
will listen to us when we cry wolf.
This post inspired by the music of Wolfmother
Serie A Week 2
Milan vs. Roma
Friday, August 31
• 20:30 CEST (2:30pm EDT)
This match will
NOT be shown LIVE on TV in the US
(can be streamed
on ESPN+)
Learn our
Europa League fate in the Group Stage Draw
Friday, August
31 • 13:00 CEST (7am EDT)