CL Round 3: Real Madrid vs AC Milan

Both Flamini & Sokratis can mark a wc attacker out of match, but I don't know if Allegri use one of them for Özil.

Prince makes Milan looks lively, but not really tactically better, though still no bad situation either.

A good use for one of them could be the key

It looks like it will be the same team as against Chievo tomorrow ... which is quite weird. The only change could be Thiago.

Anyway, I'm still confident about a good result, probably thanks to the come back of Pato and the way both Ronaldinho and Pato are used: we're a lot more dangerous up front, we have more balance, Pato is where he has to be and does what he has to do, Ronaldinho has more solutions around him and looks more lively. It's a win-win situation.

I sign right now for a 2-1 win !!

Sergio Ramos isn't called: if Marcelo plays, he will be their only attacking fullback, so that means we'll have to worry about Marcelo on our right side, and Ronaldo (alone, no help from S.Ramos) on the left side.

Lets see what Allegri does as a coach this game.

Originally Posted by GeoTav

It looks like it will be the same team as against Chievo tomorrow ... which is quite weird. The only change could be Thiago.

Anyway, I'm still confident about a good result, probably thanks to the come back of Pato and the way both Ronaldinho and Pato are used: we're a lot more dangerous up front, we have more balance, Pato is where he has to be and does what he has to do, Ronaldinho has more solutions around him and looks more lively. It's a win-win situation.

I sign right now for a 2-1 win !!

Sergio Ramos isn't called: if Marcelo plays, he will be their only attacking fullback, so that means we'll have to worry about Marcelo on our right side, and Ronaldo (alone, no help from S.Ramos) on the left side.

Yeah, it will end home undefeat record of Mou and a new great coach will be known.

Mourinho's home record is only in the league. He has lost at home with Chelsea in the Champions League about 3-4 years ago (vs Barca I think)

Originally Posted by hitmannq8

Mourinho's home record is only in the league. He has lost at home with Chelsea in the Champions League about 3-4 years ago (vs Barca I think)

Oh. Thank you for reminding me. Dinho was the star of that match. End result was a 2-1 win for Barca.

Well, I believe in Geotradamus

-------------Abbiati---------
---Zambro--Silva?---Nesta----Antonini---
-------Boetang---Pirlo---Seedorf--------
--------------Ronaldinho---------------
-------Ibra--------Pato---------------
Probably our best

Originally Posted by GeoTav

It looks like it will be the same team as against Chievo tomorrow ... which is quite weird. The only change could be Thiago.

Anyway, I'm still confident about a good result, probably thanks to the come back of Pato and the way both Ronaldinho and Pato are used: we're a lot more dangerous up front, we have more balance, Pato is where he has to be and does what he has to do, Ronaldinho has more solutions around him and looks more lively. It's a win-win situation.

I sign right now for a 2-1 win !!

Sergio Ramos isn't called: if Marcelo plays, he will be their only attacking fullback, so that means we'll have to worry about Marcelo on our right side, and Ronaldo (alone, no help from S.Ramos) on the left side.

I've watched Real Madrid a few times this year and Di Maria played on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo played on the left.

Therefore, Zambrotta(our right side) would be dealing with Ronaldo and Marcelo, and Antonini(our left side) will most likely be dealing with Di Maria and Arbeloa.

However, Di Maria and Ronaldo could easily switch sides to give a different look, but I always found Ronaldo to be most dangerous with Man U when he played as a left winger, in which he received the ball deep and wide, and ran at defenders (English defenders tho ). Now he tends to play a more "free" role where he's centralized and also plays as a 2nd striker... Anyhow Nesta and Silva will have to have a good game..and direct the back line properly...Im excited..

Originally Posted by hitmannq8

Mourinho's home record is only in the league. He has lost at home with Chelsea in the Champions League about 3-4 years ago (vs Barca I think)

I am hoping that Barca would bury that (league) record for him too.

Originally Posted by hitmannq8

No one else pumped up like crazy for this one?

Allegri said in a press conference that he will evaluate Thiago's situation tomorrow to see if he can or can't start. He also mentioned that Ozil is very important for them and that it would be suicidal to come to the Bernabeu to defend.

Man I was just coming here to say how freaking PUMPED I am for that game tomorrow. Even better is that I have no lab tomorrow afternoon so I can go to the bar and watch the game with some of my friends (one Milan supporter, one Madrid and a couple randoms). I doubt I'll be able to pay attention to anything in class before and after that game.

Looking forward to a Pato show, some amazing Nesta tackles and to see Dinho make a mess of the Madrid midfield I'm going to wear my Nesta #13 jersey (last season). Hopefully it brings good luck

only bad news from today is that the lineup seems to be unchanged from Chievo's game... I DO NOT understand how Allegri is keeping Prince on the bench.

Probable Formation:
Abbiati; Zambro, Bonera, Nesta, Nini; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; R80; Pato, Ibra

3 sets of good news:

- Thiago Silva can play
- No Sergio Ramos
- No Lass Diara (he was their best player when we met last year...by far).

I don't mind fielding the same formation we did against Chievo, except for one thing! KPB, or Flamini need to replace one of either Rino or Seedorf.

I'll only say it once; fielding a midfield of Seedorf-Pirlo-Rino would be a disaster against a young talented midfield like Real's. We all saw how the lesser talented youngsters of Ajax controlled the midfield against our thirtysomethings. Repeating the same mistake again against Real away would NOT be very prudent. Otherwise, by the time Allegri realizes this at the 79th minute and makes his first substitution we'd be already staring down the barrel of the gun.

Can't wait for the game, would be fantastic if we could win this one (beating Real, at the Bernabeu, watching the befuddled look on Mourinho's face). Anyway, got my beer case ready I'm getting tingles already! Forza Milan.

Hitmannq8: That is great news indeed if Thiago's back already. To be honest I want their 1st choice eleven versus our, and may the best team win.

I wouldn't mind keeping the same lineup as Chievo. Currently it's our most consistent lineup and the one that has best managed to play as Allegri wants.

My only real question/thought about the lineup is maybe playing Boateng instead of Seedorf. That said, Seedorf not only thrives on these games, but has insurmountable experience at this level compared to Boateng, so it makes a lot of sense to start him.

**correction: Thiago Silva could* play, it's still unsure but the possibility exists.

If Seedorf is so important he can be brought on from the 55th-65th minutes, he doesn't need to start. He has been as lazy as always this season and has been a liability as most people agree. Prince has been amazing in every sense and in every position and in every minute. He assists, he gets scoring opportunities, he defends, he's fast, he's strong on the ball...Seedorf only has experience over him.. honestly I strongly disagree with Allegri here.

Even if Seedorf is so important, Gattuso is not as good as Prince even with Rino's current form. Gattuso in his prime could not offer what Prince offers offensively at the moment.

Totally unacceptable decision. I hope Prince is included in the lineup otherwise I will be pissed until the Napoli game on Monday.