Catania has been the revelation of the season, and their tie against AC Milan, who have a lot riding on the match, would be a stern test for Vincenzo Montella’s men.
The Rossoneri will be travelling to Stadio Angelo Massimino in their Week 30 fixture of the Serie A. The match will be played on 31st March at
1700 (GMT).
Montella’s men made a stunning comeback in the dying minutes of the second-half to secure a draw from the jaws of defeat. The manner of the comeback suggested
the morale within the camp, as they came back from two goals down to level things against the in-form http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003.
The Diavolo come on the back of a goalless draw against mighty Barcelona on Wednesday. The San Siro outfit played with grit and determination, and had opportunities
of going ahead in the match themselves.
Catania
Gli Elefanti have surprised everyone with their progress under Montella, who has guided them within touching distance of European action next year. Their
comeback against Napoli epitomised the grit with which Catania have played throughout the season.
They have only had a solitary loss in their last 10 matches in the Serie, with their defeat coming at the hands of Scudetto contenders, Juventus, as they
lost the tie 3-1 at Juventus Stadium. The Angelo Massimino outfit have established a splendid record at home, having lost on only two occasions in their home ground.
Their impressive form this season sees them sitting in the seventh position six points adrift of European football.
AC Milan
Following their Champions League quarter-final tie against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604, the Rossoneri players would be exhausted, as the tie took place on Wednesday night.
However, Milan played extremely well to hold the reigning European Champions at bay with a man of the match performance put in by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luca-Antonini-c22503.
Their last encounter in the Serie A saw them come from behind against AS Roma. The Diavolo have won their previous four matches in the Serie A.
In the reverse fixture of this match, Milan were victorious winning 4-0 at the San Siro. Allegri’s men also boast the best away record of the Lega, with
10 victories on the road.
Team News
Catania
Montella does not have many injury concerns this season; however he still has a few selection concerns at his end. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marco-Biagianti-c23669 will not be available
for selection, as he is spending a spell on the Elefanti treatment table. He is accompanied by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alessandro-Potenza-c4738 who also picked up a knock.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marco-Motta-c23718 would finally
be available for selection and would be expected to start the match.
Probable starting eleven: Carrizo, Belluschi, Legrottaglie, Spolli, Barrientos, Izco, Lodi, Almiron, Marchese, Bergessio, Gomez.
AC Milan
The San Siro outfit have had to contend with a lot of injuries for majority of the season. Gennaro Gattuso,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sulley-Muntari-c34312 and Djamel Mesbah will not be selected as they are serving a one-match suspension.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Silva-c34903 will be out of the squad after aggravating his injury in the match against AS Roma.
Probable starting eleven: Abbiati, Zambrotta, Bonera, Mexes, Antonini, Aquilani, Ambrosini, Nocerino, Boateng, Ibrahimovic, El Shaarawy.
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alejandro-Gómez-c4416 (Catania)
The striker has excelled in the 4-3-3 formation deployed by Montella, and if the former Roma caretaker boss persists with the formation, Gomez would prove
to be a handful for the tired Milanello defence.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-c38029 (AC Milan)
The Swede is an ever present threat and he has been on fire of late, firing in seven goals in their last four Serie A ties. The Swede is on his way to become
the highest goal-scorer for the season, and he would be well motivated to score more goals.
Verdict
It will be a closely contested match, as Montella’s side are well organised and excel from dead ball situations. If Milan can effectively block out this
threat from Catania, there would be a high probablility of Gli Elefanti not being able to score. However, Milan come on the back of a tough tie in the Champions League, which would have effectively exhausted their players. So there’s a high probability of
lapses in Milanello defence. Prediction: 1-1
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