Friday night will be yet another big test of the lower table teams for Milan. Pisa come into this match in 19th place, a position that has been cursed for Allegri's Milan this season, seeing us drop points every single time. Additionally, Milan were frozen out by the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony last weekend, and may have had a little too much rest. Pisa are down to their third string goalkeeper, but have 12 draws this season, so could easily take points from Milan. Also, it happens to be where Allegri debuted against Milan as a player, so that could jinx Milan, too. For that reason, it is easy to see why some might be leaning toward Pisa.
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| The players will need to lean on one another to be able to bring home all three points. |
Pisa just sacked former Milan player Gilardino, who had only managed one win in 23 matches this season. Instead, they turned to a young Swedish manager, Oscar Hiljemark. His first match in charge was the scoreless draw vs. Verona last weekend, so Milan may also feel the full effect of the new coach bounce, too. In that match, he lined up a 3-4-2-1 with: Scuffet; Canestrelli, Caracciolo, Bozhinov; Idrissa Touré, Loyola, Aebischer, Angori; Stojilković, Moreo; and Durosinmi. For this match, Hiljemark will be missing Marin due to suspension for card accumulation, and also missing both goalkeepers Semper and Scuffet; as well as Vural, Denoon, and Albiol to injury.
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| Will Pisa benefit from the new manager bounce? |
Allegri obviously has Santi Giménez out, and Saelemaekers is not going to be fit in time to play in this match, either. And while Pulisic, Leão, and Füllkrug are all back in training and reportedly healing from their varied fitness issues, reports are that they will start on the bench. That means we will likely see a starting attack of Nkunku and Loftus-Cheek again for this match, and he will have the others to bring on as super subs. Saelemaekers' spot will likely be covered by Athekame once again.
After such a dominant performance against Bologna last time, logically, this match would be like a training match or a mere formality. However, not only is Allegri's record against the relegation-zone teams perfect in dropping points this season, there are a number of unusual circumstances that could easily see Milan come home without three points. In particular, Pisa's new manager and Milan having too much rest could affect the outcome of this one, when fate could be leaning toward Pisa.
Milan Primavera End on Nine Men in Their 1-0 Loss to Lazio Primavera
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| Cullotta is fouled... the match was kinda like that. |
Following their tradition of poor performances at home this season, a Milan Primavera lost 1-0 in a physical match which saw Milan end with nine men, while Lazio played with 10 men for an hour. The match started all wrong, as they conceded the goal in just the third minute. Things went from bad to worse when in the 34th minute, Lazio's Farcomeni was sent off with a straight red, while Lontani, who was already on a yellow card, was also sent off, after a fight erupted. Both teams ended the half on ten men.
Despite creating a number of chances, Milan Primavera knew it was over in the 73rd minute, when Federico Colombo was shown a straight red card, and they were now down to nine men. To their credit, they continued to attack, and Lazio were unable to take advantage of the numerical advantage. Brief highlights of the match are available. Their next challenge will be Saturday, when they are away to face Genoa Primavera.
Milan Futuro Suffer a 1-0 Loss to Virtus CiseranoBergamo at Home
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| Torriani had an amazing save and kept Futuro in the game, but it was not enough. |
Having played a tough match at home, Milan Futuro conceded a single goal from a set piece and lost 1-0 to Virtus CiseranoBergamo on Sunday. The closest Milan Futuro came to scoring was in the 38th minute, from a Victor Eletu free kick, which hit the post. Torriani produced a miracle save shortly thereafter, and Sala had a shot saved at the other end. Despite a nail biting few minutes, it was still 0-0 at halftime. Viscardi's header from a corner in the 63rd determined the match for Virtus CiseranoBergamo. And even if Milan Futuro kept their goalkeeper busy, still, they walked away empty-handed at the final whistle. Brief highlights are available. Milan Futuro will face Breno at home on Saturday.
This post inspired by the music of The Primitives' "Way Behind Me"