Following injury, illness, or surgery, a cardiologist will often run a stress test to see if the heart is working properly again. This test puts the heart under controlled amounts of stress while monitoring function to determine the fitness and function levels. This match for Milan is similar, in that Milan are in he midst of an amazing unbeaten streak, along with a dense schedule and a few injuries, with plenty of matches ahead of us. Roma are in great form, and thus this is the perfect opportunity to see if our form is a true measure of our team's abilities, or if we have just been really lucky. Either way, certainly, for fans, this match feels like a stress test.
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| Calhanoglu has passed his stress test |
Roma have seven points in the league, with four wins, a draw, and a loss. After a tough draw with Juventus, they have won their last two matches, and also managed to win 2-1 away to Young Boys in the Europa League on Thursday. Despite conceding a goal early in that match, Roma came back with goals from Kumbulla and Peres to take all three points.
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| Double threat |
For that match, Fonseca lined up Lopez; Fazio, Kumbulla, Juan Jesus, Karsdorp, Villar, Cristante, Bruno Peres; Carles Perez, Mayoral, and Pedro. He rested Mirante, and Dzeko, Spinazzola, Pellegrini, Veretout, and Mkhitaryan all came on as subs, so were clearly rested for this match. Fonseca is missing Zaniolo longterm to another tragic ACL injury, as well as Pastore, with Smalling in doubt to start this match due to injury as well. Additionally, as of this writing, Calafiori and Diawara have tested positive for COVID-19, so will miss this one.
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| The Youth Factor |
Pioli got good news that Calhanoglu will be available after all for this match after a nasty ankle sprain last week, and is rumored to possibly even get the start. Rebic could be available Thursday, but will miss this one, and Gabbia is still COVID-19 positive, so will definitely miss this match. Our team also played in the Europa League on Thursday, a hard fought 3-1 win over Celtic on Thursday, but Pioli has assured us that he will rely on rotation to be able to keep everyone as healthy as possible in spite of the packed schedule.
Meeting Roma is never boring, and we have a lot of history in this matchup. For example, as we mentioned on the latest podcast, Kjaer previously played for Roma, and Romagnoli came up through their youth system, despite being a Lazio fan. Roma have gotten some lucky calls so far this season, but are also fighting through a recent ownership change. They are in good form going into this match, including their 5-2 annihilation of Pippo Inzaghi's Benevento last week. Consider this fair warning.
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| Romagnoli is always happy when Roma lose |
This match will absolutely be a tough one. With such a demanding schedule, we have to expect that our unbeaten form will end at some point. However, hopefully, it will not be in this match. We are top of the table, and it would be good to stay there, at least for a while longer. With the mentality, the amazing young players we have, and so much of the season left to play, I truly hope that Milan pass their stress test.
This post inspired by the music of Wolfmother