Semifinals – Title race rehearsal
By David, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Milan have been hit hard by the suspension inflicted on their front man Ibrahimovic. There is the Coppa Italia in midweek though so he will be there to help them overcome Juventus. From the semifinals onwards the encounters between the final four teams contending this title will be played over two legs. This week Milan and Juventus are both called on to make up for disappointing weekend results in Serie A whilst Napoli want to ensure themselves a place in Europe for next season by reaching the final of the Coppa Italia.
Milan – Juventus
It is a delicate moment for both teams but more so for Milan I would say. The killer instinct has vanished from this side with Allegri more and more proving he is not the right man for a big team like Milan despite last season’s Scudetto won without really competing against anyone.
The Rossoneri have failed to win any of the games with the top teams in the league this year and this shows how criticism about Allegri playing a long ball on Ibra and waiting for him to do something with it are more than real.
How will the manager deal with his absence for three games after being found guilty of violent conduct and therefore forced to miss the Serie A clash with Juventus? That would be the last of the games he would be required to sit out but surely the most important as the two sides battle it out to
Juventus still remain on top and with a game in hand because every time Milan had the chance to overtake them in the table they failed. They may have less quality than Milan but what Conte has given the team is fighting spirit. Finding the goal is their problem though and when their front man, usually Matri, fails to fire they cannot win the match. That happened against Siena.
There used to be back up from Marchisio and Pepe for the goals but the latter is now injured and his form has dropped along with that of Marchisio. Vucinic has only now recovered from his long layoff and it showed against Siena.
Verdict: 1
Although Milan are missing the individual quality of Boateng, Cassano, Merkel and Aquilani – all of which can light the fire for the team – they look better off than Juventus right now in my opinion. The Bianconeri will miss the contribution of important men and this should hand over this hard fought first leg to Milan.
Siena – Napoli
Given there seems to be no end to Napoli’s demise in the Serie A this season this looks like the fastest way to getting into Europe next season. The year had kicked off with ambitions that included being the outsider for the title in Italy but after twenty-two games played they find themselves out of the games and, in seventh place, out of the places in the standings that could get them into Europe next year.
Fate has paired them with Siena and if they blow this chance away they should really b blamed for trying so very little. Mazzarri keeps trying to explain why they have failed to win a league match in the last five with all sorts of pathetic excuses but he’s convincing no one. Napoli have been failed by their best players. The ones which made them great last season. Now they need to regroup.
Sannino, on the other hand, has been lauded for the efforts shown with the squad he has managing to showcase good stuff this year. Quality is not enough though and they need to be at home to impose their game. That is a good thing since they will need a positive result right now if they want to go through to a historic final.
Verdict: 2
Siena will be very motivated so they will forget all about their relegation struggles for a while. Two weeks ago they went close to taking the points at home against Napoli but the guests drew level in the final minutes. Napoli played better when they needed to that day and I believe they will be switching on their potential from the start this time given the immediate need for a victory at the moment. It is too important a clash for them and with the higher quality they can boast they should not disappoint again. Lavezzi will be there and hopefully we will have the Pandev of late and a changed Cavani.
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06.02.2012, 18:42 CET
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been banned for three Serie A games, thus missing out on the league match against Juventus.
Milan have announced that they will appeal the decision to get at least two games instead of three so that the Swedish player gets the chance to play against title contenders Juve.