Cagliari v AC Milan – Preview: Zemanlandia rides again

Date: 28th October 2014 at 8:42am
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Cagliari welcome AC Milan to the Stadio Sant’Elia on Wednesday night in Serie A as Zemanlandia looks to have taken flight.

The two sides are separated by seven points at this early stage in the season, with the home side sitting in 12th place, compared to the 6th position which Milan occupy.

Last time out, Cagliari claimed a thumping 4-0 win over recently-promoted Empoli, with talismanic striker Marco Sau netting just one of those goals. That emphatic victory came in addition to the 4-1 away demolition of Inter, which occurred at the tail-end of September. These high-scoring affairs prove that the Rossoblu carry a significant attacking threat again, owing to the arrival of coach Zdenek Zeman.

Meanwhile, the Rossoneri are five games unbeaten. This statistic could be more favourable for Filippo Inzaghi’s side, if two of those games had not been disappointing draws against promoted duo Empoli and Cesena. Japan international Keisuke Honda currently provides the biggest goal threat for Milan, netting four times in his last five appearances for the club.

So far, Milan have kept just one clean sheet in the league this season. While the attacking capabilities of this Diavolo side are very clear, it is arguably going to be their defensive powers which are going to be under the most pressure and scrutiny in this clash.

Cagliari coach Zeman is famed for his all-out attack methods, and will relish the prospect of his team putting goals past an unsettled Milan defence. This imbalance could set up a high scoring contest between the two sides.

The last meeting between these two clubs resulted in a 3-1 Milan victory at the San Siro. Departed duo Robinho and Mario Balotelli claimed a goal each, while the exiled Philippe Mexes grabbed the other. Cagliari’s goal came through Sau, who can be expected to make the starting lineup for this coming game.

Cagliari have three injury concerns to contend with in the build up to this match. While anchor man Sebastian Eriksson is definitely out until the new year, both of Luca Ceppitelli and club captain Daniele Conti could make their returns, but face fitness tests prior to kickoff.

Milan will be buoyed by the return of goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who can be expected to resume his place between the sticks ahead of Christian Abbiati. The sole injury problem for the away side is that of captain Riccardo Montolivo, who is still around two weeks away from match fitness. While Fernando Torres is expected to replace Jeremy Menez in attack.

Expected Starting XIs

Cagliari: Cragno; Balzano, Rossettini, Capuano, Danilo; Donsah, Crisetig, Ekdal; Ibarbo, Sau, Cossu

AC Milan: Lopez; Abate, Alex, Zapata, De Sciglio; Bonaventura, De Jong, Muntari; Honda, Torres, El Shaarawy

 

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