What was supposed to be a thrashing by Atletico Madrid turned out to be Milan's most put together performance of the season. The team played as a team, and while the same mistakes that plagued them all season long such as defensive execution, the match was not the failure many expected. Now a trip to Genoa to play Sampdoria, who has proven a tricky opponent for Milan of late.
Sampdoria sits four points back of Milan mainly on the shoulders of Eder. The Brazilian has nine goals and six assists and has been the driving force for keeping Sampdoria out of the relegation zone. Sinisa Mihajlovic has proven a formidable foe for Milan and his compact 4-2-3-1 could prove a problem to Seedorf's variation boiled down simply to discipline on the wings. Milan proved capable of showing some tactical intelligence on the wings midweek but that mainly to do with personnel and not the formation.
For all intents and purposes Taraabt is the only naturally suited outside attacking winger on the roster. Honda and Kaka lack the tactical depth to play both sides of the ball, and Poli who was used midweek can do a bit everything. The question becomes does Seedorf rest Kaka and drop Honda into his proper role, or does he continue with this carousel up front? My take...
Abbiati; Abate, Rami, Zapata, Urby; Essien, DeJong; Poli, Honda, Adel; Balotelli Pazzini
Truth us the loss of DeScig hurts and while many want Monty back in action, the fact the dual pivot worked infinitely better midweek was down to the right personnel in the center of the park. Kaka needs a break as he looks gassed and while this match also screams for a bit of Pazzo; the formation doesn't allow that two striker flexibility without selling the balance. with Balotelli out for ten days due to a shoulder injury, Pazzini will get a chance to inflict some damage on his old friends. Not saying he couldn't be used later on depending on if the team needs a goal or not. A very possible scenario in the Marassi.