Week 6: Genoa - Milan (Sunday, September 27 - 12:30 CET)

[Mystik]

Games are coming thick and fast these days and we face Genoa in the early kickoff match on Sunday. We just came off a quite weird performance against Udinese where we were excellent in the first half then for some reason played like schoolboys in the second. We were lucky not to be punished for it but we can't afford to drop off in quality like that again.

Genoa has only picked up 3 points so far this season so they have some issues of their own. I haven't caught any of their matches so far but certainly we should fancy our chances of picking up all three points especially with other big teams in Italy not performing consistently.

Player news, etc to follow.

FORZA MILAN!

[ACM2023]

I have to get up early at 6:30 to watch this game?

At least the good news is that they picked up two red cards yesterday against Lazio. That should enhance our chance of winning.

[Ace]

The predicted line-up offers no surprises Defence-wise.
as expected, Montolivo keeps his place in the side as he proved to be the best as a regista.
I'm a little disappointed and surprised by the inclusion of De Jong again as our RCM, as his form this season has been awful and he offered almost nothing last time out and actually left Montolivo exposed at times.
Kucka seems to be still injured.
Bertolacci makes his come-back in the midfield, and I actually think he did well playing alongside Montolivo and he might make his mark in this game and take a bit of the play-making burden off of Montolivo's shoulders.
Glad Bonaventura is pushed forward taking Honda's spot, he should thrive there with the space Adriano and Mario will make.

Ballotelli has been awesome in his last 2 matches and probably deserves a start. hope he can keep up the good work.
Bacca looked tired last match, and could probably use a little bit of a rest while he can offer alot coming off the bench.

we should be in for an exciting match.

[ACMILAN1983]

I think the lineup is fair, although I'd consider switching Bonaventura and Bertolacci for this match, mostly as Bertolacci's just coming back and I'd want to try and keep the balance in midfield.

De Jong starting again is just about ok in my view as Kucka's still out, but I'd actually be tempted to use Poli there instead. Still don't get why the Italian media loves him so much, but I constantly read reports about how well he worked vs Udinese and some journalists even suggesting he could be a CB. Honestly, I think he's fighting for a spot with Poli, that should say everything about what I think about him.

I think Balotelli ahead of Bacca is ok. Bacca's performances have been pretty mixed so far, while I think Balo works better with Adriano than he does with Bacca.

I want more intensity and concentration through the 90 minutes this match, that for me is critical.

[somedevil]

I read somewhere that Miha mighty try Bertolacci as treq

[honsano]

anyone know of links to heat maps to show where the players typically position themselves? I feel like Balo plays sooo deep and out of the box he should be behind Bacca and Adriano as we have no other good options for that role. Bonaventura is much better in a deeper role for me. I realize Balo isn't as creative but we honestly have only seen ineffective players there thus far and he actually had some good passes in our last match to open play.

[reza]

whoscored.com, for example the Udinese match is http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1005976/Live

Here's a screenshot of what they show for Balo

   

[PerSempre]

whoscored.com, for example the Udinese match is http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1005976/Live

Here's a screenshot of what they show for Balo

Balotelli shows intense heat signs on the bottom left...probably because he was time wasting against Udinese there for about 15 minutes


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[Ace]

Both Ballotelli and Menez actually have showed they can play behind two strikers and be more effective than Honda as they both tend to go deep, take the ball and initiate attacks.

But the main difference between them and say world-class playmakers is that they lack that killer pass that the likes of Pirlo and even Montolivo can offer.

As for Bertolacci and Bonaventura, while both are fairly adept at playing either behind the strikers and in midfield, I think Bertolacci is more effective alongside Montolivo helping him with the distribution of the ball from the back.
In addition, they both can easily switch places in-match, causing confusion for Genoa.. but the downside that they can also cause confusion for our team.

[ACM2023]

Is that true that Perin will miss this game due to injury?