Cagliari-Milan Preview: The Natives Are Restless

Milan are flying to the island of Sardegna tomorrow and facing a hostile Cagliari side. Gli Isolani were the darlings of Serie A, unpredictably in fourth place with the big teams in November. Until they lost three in a row, and are suddenly sliding down the table. Milan could only dream of being in fourth place, and are very desperate to change their fortunes. Unfortunately, Cagliari are more likely to come up with the three points. The natives are restless.

Ibrahimovic is larger than life, but can he help Milan?

Cagliari suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Juventus last week. For that match, Maran lined up Olsen; Cacciatore, Walukiewicz, Klavan, Pellegrini; Rog, Cigarini, Nandez; Nainggolan, Joao Pedro; and Simeone. He will be missing Ceppitelli and Pavoletti to long-term injuries, with Cragno unlikely and Cacciatore in doubt with a muscular issue. With Milan so poor of late, Cagliari have to be drooling at the prospect of taking all three points from us in their own house.

Milan are missing their souls after losing to Atalanta 5-0 before the new year, then drawing 0-0 to a not-particularly-impressive-Sampdoria last week. However, in between those games, they did regain a footballing god in the form of Ibrahimovic. Other transfers are reportedly happening, possibly impacting the availability of Borini, Piatek, Reina, Kessie, and Rodriguez, if not more. I would expect to see quite a few Primavera players making the journey to compensate. Oh, and Duarte and Biglia are both out injured for sure.

Nainggolan at Cagliari, 2.0

The transfer market changes are very likely to disrupt a team in crisis even more, so a win in Cagliari might actually be a miracle. Meanwhile, Cagliari will be desperate for a response, but could be impacted negatively by the defeat to Juve last week. It’s a very important game for both teams, but Cagliari are the home team and have the most continuity in personnel. Plus, the natives are restless.

This post inspired by the music of Cigarettes After Sex

Our next match is

Serie A Week 19

Cagliari vs. Milan

Saturday, January 11 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)