By Petar Todorovski
Milan seems to be on the right way to winning the title, but after latest injury related bad news for Massimiliano Allegri we could rather call tricky this weekend’s travel to Bologna. Rossoneri face the mid-table side in the 16th round.
AC Milan are literally sprinting to the Scudetto as they are still unbeaten in Serie A in their last six games, winning four of them in the process. Gaining victories in ten out of fifteen matches is more than a respectable record. The last one they won in great fashion deserving the epithet: Top Favorite for Championship.
Although Rossoneri lost the midweek Champions League game against Dutch side Ajax on home turf, there’s nothing to worry about. Milan had booked a ticket to the next round, so the game for them was meaningless. Allegri wasn’t happy with the result, admitting that Ibrahimovic is irreplaceable. “It is a difficult moment when you rest someone like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as we played with two forwards who generally play behind him. I think the players did the best they could this evening. There is no substitute for Ibra, but the characteristics of the side should not change too much if one key player is missing. Ronaldinho and Robinho are two totally different players. I had to rest Ibrahimovic this evening, and I did,” he added.
Nevertheless, Ibra’s substitute is not the biggest problem at San Siro these days. Milan’s doctor informed Allegri that the central defender Thiago Silva is injured and recovery will take about six months. Now Milan has a hole in defense to fill. Mario Yepes will come into first team for the next match, but although his qualities are unquestionable, we will have to wait to see how many games both Yepes and Alessandro Nesta can play, having in mind that they are more than 33 years old. Nesta is also prone to injuries lately, so Milan’s management is lucky because January transfer window is less than three weeks from now, with only two games to play in that period.
Despite Thiago Silva the next who will miss is Mathieu Flamini, but his absence will last no more than four weeks. Long term injuries Pato and Inzaghi are also out.
Bologna will have to cope with Milan only without Perez and Mutarelli. However, Alberto Malesani’s side has Marco Di Vaio in the team, from who everybody expects goals this week. The optimism in home side is not unfounded: in seven home games they have four victories and three draws against Italian’s best teams such as Inter, Juventus and Sampdoria, and now Rossoblu sit on thirteenth place.
Despite the latest injury blows AC Milan are still favorites to win this game, as they have superior quality compared to Rossoblu. Players like Ibrahimovic and Seedorf could be match winners even if the team doesn’t play well, but there’s no reason why Milan should lack form this time. It could be difficult for them if Bologna score first, but Alessandro Nesta said that he won’t let that happen. Nevertheless, even if Rossoneri score first nothing would be over, because Bologna will never give up.
