The last time Allegri was Milan's manager, it was a 4-3 loss to Sassuolo away that got him sacked. Even though that was almost 12 years ago now, I find it hard to believe that this fact has not crossed his mind. Worse still, having dropped points against the other newly promoted sides, he must be concerned about the team losing focus and dropping points again. Particularly with Fabio Grosso's side doing so well this season. However, the last time he faced Sassuolo on the Milan bench, it was Berardi who scored four against Milan, and gratefully for us, Berardi is injured. So, while there is hope, this could easily still be Allegri's Nightmare Before Christmas.
 |
| Allegri's last panettone at Milan, just before he was sacked. |
World Cup winner Fabio Grosso has Sassuolo in ninth place with six wins, two draws, and six losses. Their most recent match was a 3-1 win over bottom of the table Fiorentina. For that match, Grosso lined up a 4-3-3 with: Arijanet Muric' Walukiewicz, Idzes, Muharemović, Josh Doig; Thorstvedt, Nemanja Matić, Ismaël Koné; Volpato, Pinamonti, and Laurienté. Grosso is missing a number of players to injury. In addition to the aforementioned Berardi, he will also be without Turati, Skjellerup, Boloca, Yeferson Paz, Romagna, and Pieragnolo.
 |
| Fabio Grosso has been doing amazing things at Sassuolo... will he take down Allegri's side? |
\Allegri will be without Santi Gimenez, Fofana, and Rafa Leão for this one. However, he did recover Athekame this week. Speculation is that Pulisic and Nkunku will start in attack, while either Loftus-Cheek or Ricci could replace Fofana. Allegri also has Jashari fit now, and if Modrić is not 100%, that gives him more options.
Allegri was voted Serie A Coach of the Month for November, so he will want to avoid any embarrassment in this match. Maignan was awarded Player of the Month by the AIC, the Italian Player Association, A well-deserved honor. Pulisic is joint top scorer in Serie A, but has done that in fewer matches played. Coming into this match as the current league leaders does not help, as the pressure is even greater. Not to mention that it is a lunchtime match, and Milan often struggle at that time.
 |
| Maignan was the Serie A Player of the Month as voted by his peers. |
However, one good thing is that there have been a number of initiatives surrounding this match that help Fondazione Milan's Sport for All project. Ricci and Terracciano helped deliver a minibus to be used for those with visual impairment, and a few of the athletes have visited children in hospitals, just to name a couple of the related initiatives.
And, while there is much goodwill and happiness surrounding that project, Allegri sounded the warning in his prematch press conference about this one. Being top of the table is a dream, but he is missing a couple of very important players. Given his record this season against the newly promoted sides, this could definitely go badly. Let's just hope it is a dream, and not Allegri's Nightmare Before Christmas.
This post inspired by the music of Danny Elfman's "What's This?"