Milan-Cesena Preview: Under the Sea

With the results so far this season, injuries, the cumulative weight of having two CEOs, three coaches in two seasons, and 51 players out and 46 players in these past two and a half years it’s kind of like Milan is drowning. How appropriate then that we should be facing the seahorses tomorrow. And while Cesena are facing potential relegation with only 16 points, they have to be buoyed up by the prospect of getting at least a point from Milan at the San Siro. So look to this match to be played as if it were under the sea.

In September he was still a joke, now he is a welcome sight on the list of returning players

In September, we had yet to discover our signing of the season, center right back Daniele Bonera. We also used the formation so many people are calling for now, the 4-2-3-1 against Cesena, and we ended up with a very disappointing 1-1 draw. To be fair, we played the final 15-20 minutes on ten men that match, after a Zapata red card. But let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself and we can overcome the drowning morale and actually finally take three points at the San Siro.

Cesena will also be wanting those three points, though, and they are points that could very realistically be theirs. After all, last week they shocked Serie A by holding league leaders Juventus to a 2-2 draw. For that match, Di Carlo lined up Leali; Lucchini, Rajnc, Perico, Renzetti; Giorgi, De Feudis, Brienza, Zé Eduardo; Djuric, and Defrel. Yes, that Zé Eduardo, who refused to take a trial for Allegri at Milan. Looking at this iteration of Milan, though, he'll probably be glad he didn't. Cesena, however, have a decent sized injury list, with Marilungo, Tabanelli, Valzania, Cazzola, Cascione, Pulzettim and Perico all on the injury list and Giorgi questionable for tomorrow.

The Juventus-owned "heir to Buffon" could prevent us from getting on the scoreboard

Milan have an infusion of returning players for this match that makes their injury list shorter, but not a lot easier to swallow. Of course Diego Lopez is suspended for this one after his very amateur error of handling the ball outside of the box last week. Still injured are: De Sciglio, El Shaarawy, Mastour, Zapata, Mexes, Abate, Agazzi, Paletta, and Armero. But on the bright side, it seems that Bonera, Montolivo, Alex, and Bonaventura will all be returning for this match. Whether or not they will start or sit on the bench has yet to be seen, but still, more warm bodies is always good.

There has been much discussion about the formation this time, with fans taking media speculation to heart and planning for the 4-2-3-1, specifically with Honda in the trequartista spot. But speculation is just that, as Inzaghi has insisted that he will use a formation with two strikers. Where everyone lines up is still in the air, but after last week’s performance, would it even matter? They will have to play much better this week to convince me there is even a prescribed formation or system being used. And to that end, I am truly hoping for a much better performance this week, regardless of result.

Only a win can stop the rapid aging process for him

It is teams like Cesena who are keeping us out of the relegation zone, so let’s hope we can get a result tomorrow to keep it that way. We may feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders, but there will be families and children at the stadium tomorrow who will be disappointed in anything less than three points. So even though maybe it feels like we’re drowning, let’s not go belly up again in this match. Let’s make it a Carnevale to remember… even if the game is played under the sea.

This match inspired by the music from “The Little Mermaid” soundtrack

Milan vs. Cesena

Sunday, February 22 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)

This match is being shown LIVE on BeIN Sports in the U.S.