Last16 – Cup visiting Milan
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
After the Sunday night derby the two Milan giants return to action. Their commitment to the cup is always questionable though so there may be a few good chances for profit with larger odds.
Milan – Novara
The losing side on Sunday was Milan but their play was not as bad as many would have us think. Inter keep their cool and waited for a mistake and Abate gave them just that. It was a repletion of a similar mistake the right-back had done in another derby and his punisher was once more Milito. He will be getting a break from action this time alongside many other of his first team colleagues.
The last time we had Allegri apply a huge rotation it was against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League. In the Czech Republic they were leading by two goals only to concede in the dying minutes of the match two goals which drew level for the hosts.
The end result in reality did not do justice to Viktoria Plzen which had kept banging on Milan’s doors throughout the whole 90 minutes. The guests’ goals came from two quick runs which got the Plzen by surprise.
Novara are in fact the worst team in the league if we analyze their quality on paper. They play good football though. Yet, unlike what newly promoted side Swansea manage to do in the Premier League, Novara fail in getting the points they need to stamp down their feet in Serie A. This is because in England’s top flight an offensive-minded side will be given the spaces it needs to get the goals whilst in Italy there is more caution. In fact, Tesser has had to tone down the attacking approach. Little has worked so far.
Turning onto the transfer market Novara will be looking to bring in new players to help them in their struggles for staying up. So far they have already managed to land two important players who had been disappointing since their moves to new clubs in the past months. Mascara had moved to Napoli a year ago but failed to convince Mazzarri. Caracciolo went to Bologna this summer but was eventually dropped after a series of poor displays.
In any case neither should feature as Tesser looks to focus on the home game next Sunday, again with Milan.
Verdict: Over 2.5
Novara want to get as many points as they can in the league and keep fighting to stay in Serie A until the end. If they are to go close to that ambitious landmark in their history they will need to concentrate fully on their next league match. Milan will not be playing with their best men of course. With the two sides rotating their players the game should be quite open. Milan will most probably seal qualification over 90 minutes.
Inter – Genoa
Ranieri is indeed a derby specialist. He proved it once again in Milan by snatching the derby spoils with his shrewd tactics. It was Inter’s sixth victory on the trot marking the revival of a side having looked disbanded and unrecoverable at the start of the season. The race is not over though and with just six points separating them from leaders Juventus they must feel compelled to fight on for reintroduction into the squabbles for the title.
Next up are Lazio, which have learned to tremble at the sight of Ranieri. Staying in touch with their good moment will be crucial and in the current conditions Lazio may prove an easy opponent. The cup will carry less importance for Inter so Ranieri will make a few alterations. Marino will make his own too. What will boost Genoa’s chances will be the fact that they know they have nothing to lose here and their high motivations to perform well at the San Siro will contrast with Inter’s satisfied look after the derby win.
The last time the two sides played each other was when they recovered the match that had been postponed due to the floods that had hit Marassi. Genoa had been a tough nut to crack and the end result which favoured Inter was not what the pitch had said it should have been. They will be keen to take revenge on that result although they will be away this time.
In the league Genoa are 3-2-1 in the last six at the San Siro. In the Coppa Italia there are two recent games, both played at the San Siro and both saw Inter emerge as the side that qualified to the next round. The two results are interesting though and they too hint at the fact that Inter do not usually overcome Genoa with ease. One was a draw, which then Inter turned in their favour in extra time. The other was a 3-2 victory. Narrow one.
Verdict: Genoa +0.25
With Inter still euphoric from the derby victory this can turn out to be a great opportunity for Genoa to ride their own wave and keep the feel good factor generated by the arrival of Marino going.
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18.01.2012, 15:44 CET
Milan's Boateng has been ruled out for about a month. Seedorf is sick. van Bommel is suspended.
Ibrahimovic will be rested. El-Shaarawy should play the whole 90 minutes. Inzaghi will feature as well.