FC Barcelona will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's disappointing 0-0 draw with CA Osasuna
and preserve their 100% UEFA Champions League record with a win over AC
Milan tomorrow at the San Siro. Despite a slow start to the new Serie A
campaign, the Rossoneri have earned four points from their opening two
group stage fixtures and even in the face of a growing injury crisis,
Massamiliano Allegri's boys will be hoping to emulate last season's
shock 2-0 win over the Blaugrana.
On that fateful night
in February, Milan defended as a unit and were brutally efficient on the
counter-attack – but their delight was short-lived as Barcelona
produced one of their most complete performances in recent memory to
overturn the deficit and progress 4-2 on aggregate.
With Mario Balotelli
likely to shake off a knock and start in the centre of the Milan
attack, one might argue that the Rossoneri are more dangerous this
season, despite their modest domestic record. However, the same can be
said of FC Barcelona and regardless of their hectic schedule or the
weekend’s draw with Osasuna, Barça enter this match as favourites.
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
Lionel Messi
started Saturday's draw with Osasuna on the Barcelona bench, but is
expected to return to the starting lineup alongside a raft of other
first team regulars, including his Argentine compatriot Javier Mascherano
and former La Masia teammate Gerard Piqué. Both Mascherano and Piqué
were rested for Saturday's stalemate -- El Jefecito was an unused
substitute while Piqué didn't even make the trip to Pamplona as
Barcelona head coach Gerardo Martino rotated his squad with the weekend's Clasico in mind. Will we see a similar approach tomorrow?
Even if we do, we can
be certain that Victor Valdes will start in goal. The Catalan shot
stopper may be closing in on a summer move to AS Monaco, but he's shown
no signs of losing focus and only a fool would question his commitment
to the club. After all, Valdes is currently in the form of his life,
having kept five clean sheets in the past seven games for the Blaugrana;
certainly his efforts between the sticks have been a decisive factor in
Barcelona's dominant start to the season.
Valdes has also been
commonly seen barking orders to his teammates, demonstrating that Barça
will not only be losing a great goalkeeper this summer, they will also
be losing a great leader. These fears however have been temporarily
quelled by the triumphant return of our club captain, Carles Puyol.
Returning to action after a seven month absence, Puyol showed no signs
of rust against Osasuna -- and went on to surprise many by completing
the full 90 minutes. Unfortunately this will probably rule Puyol out of
contention for a starting berth in tomorrow's match, but it was great to
see El Capitan back on the field.
So if Puyol isn't starting, just who is expected to get the nod?
The safe bet is on Gerard Piqué and Javier Mascherano renewing their partnership in the centre of defense, with Dani Alves and either Adriano or Martin Montoya
in support at right and left-back respectively -- but how does that
impact on Martino's team selection in the Clasico? Can Mascherano start
two matches in such a short period of time having just returned from
injury? Will Adriano start all three of Barcelona's fixtures this week
after another international break in Catalunya? Every decision will have
a knock-on effect; it'll certainly be a good test of Martino's rotation
policy.
Similar questions can be asked of the midfield as Martino's selection could insinuate that any one of Sergio Busquets,
Xavi and Andres Iniesta will start three matches in a week, even after a
hectic international break. Does Martino risk "over-playing" some of
his key midfielders, or does he "risk it" and give youth a chance? If I
had to guess, I think that Martino will either opt for a midfield trio
of Alex Song, Cesc Fábregas and Xavi or start Busquets alongside Cesc and Sergi Roberto -- but what do I know?
The attack however basically picks itself. Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez and Cristian Tello
with Neymar and Pedro available off the bench. I'd definitely be
surprised to see Neymar start anyway, and unless Barça are
losing/drawing, I also suspect that Messi will not complete the 90
minutes.
AC MILAN
Milan are set to hand
star striker Mario Balotelli a late fitness test as the volatile Italian
attempts to recover from his latest injury setback to return against
Barcelona. The former Manchester City forward was ineligible for last
season’s Round of 16 and will be eager to make his mark against the
Blaugrana. However, even if Balotelli does make his comeback, Milan will
be without their number one, Christian Abbiati, talented young full-back, Mattia De Sciglio and lively winger, Stephan El Shaarawy.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWWWD
Milan: LDWDLW
LAST MEETING
FC Barcelona 4-0 AC Milan – 12th March 2013 – UEFA Champions League
Barcelona put in a
performance for the ages to overturn a two-goal deficit and book their
place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, as goals from Lionel
Messi (2), David Villa and Jordi Alba secured a memorable comeback.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Montoya; Busquets, Roberto, Fàbregas; Sánchez, Messi, Tello
AC Milan (4-1-3-1-1): Amelia; Abate, Mexes, Zapata, Constant; De Jong; Muntari, Nocerino, Poli; Montolivo; Balotelli
MATCH PREDICTION
A trip to the San Siro
is never going to make my list of "easy games", especially with a
Clasico scheduled for the very same week – and I expect Barça to
"struggle" to a narrow victory. I’m going for a 2-1 Barça win.
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