vs Rossoneri | Vital Football

vs Rossoneri

D

DavidT_CFC

Vital Squad Member
Al Shaarawy and Montolivo both out which is a big help for us. Injuries wise how are we doing is Kayal fit? Lustig should be ok hopefully. Also I didn't catch the Hearts game but how did Van Dijk do, does he look solid?

I can see us sneaking a result here, Milan are being very cocky and no doubt underestimate us. The older Milan teams we played had more respect but not this team. Happy to be watching CL football again this season :emoticon:14
 
I believe they have a few injury concerns, their first choice RB is out as well De Sciglio or something like that his name is. They may not actually have any fit, first team full backs.

We have a slight concern over Matthews who went off against Hearts in the first half after taking a couple of knocks to his ankle but I think he should be ok.
Moyoukolo is obviously still out, Forrest is out, Ledley has a niggling injury but managed most of the game against Hearts before Mulgrew replaced him and Biton still doesn't have his work permit but is meeting the squad in Milan.

I doubt Pukki will start this game but I could see him coming on from the bench at some point. Samaras may be used on one wing and Derk on the other with Stokes through the middle. Derk is certainly being pinpointed as a big player for us in this game with his pace to counter attack. I don't think this will necessarily be the right game for Commons but you never know when he's going to step up and play a blinder! One of the 4 is not going to start (Samaras, Stokes, Derk, Commons) as I think we will be playing a bit of a 4-3-3 with the wingers being asked to get forward and back a lot more to turn us into a 4-5-1 when defending.

A lot depends on what we expect Milan to do, they very nearly lost away to Torino on Saturday night but Balotelli scored a late goal to save them and NL will be formulating a plan to counter their formation based on what he saw in that game and how we expect them to play after their other games this season.
 
This Milan tram has a lot of firepower. They have also dropped points, so it's not impossible to get a result. There is a wild card. Balotelli may be a more loose cannon than Hagj Diouf. Broon may be able to goad him into something stupid.
 
This game will be big for Stokes. If he does not start, then Lenny thinks he is a headcase. I don't understand it. With Celtic's season and Lenny's back to the wall two years ago, he came up with two big goals and saved everyone's ass. I've never seen him choke the way Samaras missed a late penalty against the huns in a gaffe that really blew the title for us three years ago. He is in amazing form right now. So what's it going to be Lenny?
 
Hopefully Ledley is fit enough. I think Sammy is great for European games, this kind of game will suit him down to the ground and his back tracking has improved immensely so he has to start. As for Commons I do agree with wee_od, it's not his kind of game. Unless he starts more centrally, that all depends on us going 4-5-1 or 4-4-2.
 
We seem to have the most favorable situation possible to get something out of a game in Milan. They're off to a slow start in Serie A, have 6-7 players out, and seem over-confident. What better time to steal a point or three? If Torino can score two, we can score as well.

I'm sure NL will play 4-5-1 - I just hope it's not Sami up front. He worked like hell against Shaktar, but I'd rather see him giving that energy out wide with Stokes up front. He's on fire and his goal against Hearts was pure class and exactly the type of play we'll need to score on in Milan.

As far as I know the only real injury concern is Matthews and even he seems likely to play. We were in every road CL group game last year and won one and almost got a point in Barcelona - why not surprise Milan with a result? We will play well and I feel good we'll have a chance. Let's make it happen!
 
Stokes is obviously on fire at the minute but the question is whether he can play up top on his own in this company and theres only one way to find out , NL has dropped hints that he is ready to include him but I very much doubt if we'll see Tony & Sammy on the field together and I really think it'll be one or the other .... hopefully we'll have pace on both flanks with wee Jamsie & Derk with Commons in the hole ...latest news is that Kaka is out which is another bonus for us and I'm beginning to get reasonably confident of securing a result here .
 
There's no reason we couldn't have Stokes up top and Sammy on the left. I'd go 4-5-1 with:

Matthews (Lustig)------------Amborse----VvD------Izzy
-------------------Brown--------------------------------------
Forrest--------------Dirk-----------------Sammy---
-----------------Commons-------------------------------
-----------------Stokes--------------------------------
 
I realize it's an attack-heavy lineup but if Brown stays deep to help the defense, we would be doing what worked for Inter in the CL under Jose a few years ago. You have five men back, cede the middle of the park and open up passing lanes going forward.
 
I read that Forrest is out, so maybe put Matthews in right midfield. I wonder if this is a game for Muldini as well.
 
I heard the same thing about Forrest being out - otherwise I would love to see the above line up tomorrow night. We can't play for a 0-0 draw - we can score against this team! Even if Forrest is out, I would like to see Commons, Derk, Sammy, and Stokes having a chance to run at Milan on the break.
 
Ledley's form has been woeful so I'm actually hoping he doesn't make this one. Brown and Mulgrew have been an excellent midfield partnership for Scotland in the last few games, and I'd like to see Lenny go with that pairing for this game.

Kayal is the only other realistic option to partner Brown as I can't see Lenny handing Biton his first start in a game of such importance.

Stokes probably can't play as an orthodox lone striker, but he's more than capable of causing their defenders problems. He's technically sound and very tricky with the ball at his feet. Being two footed is perhaps the biggest weapon in Stokesy's locker, though, because defenders know that he can go past them - very effectively - on either side. Defenders hate playing against attackers who don't have a weak side/foot.

Derk was bought for these type of games, but there's a strong argument for having Lustig at RB and Matthews at RM, which would leave Derk and Sammy competing for the LM slot.

A pal reckons Lenny might use Derk in the lone striking role...



 
I'd agree with that, David - especially in away games. Derk is still an unknown quantity in terms of marking, tracking back and putting his foot in when needed.
 
He's really come on since Lenny pushed him out wide. Plus he really loves Celtic so you can't bash him for that :emoticon:14
 
My team:

forster

lustig van.djik mulgrew izzy
boeriggter brown biton sammy
commons
stokes

doubt that will be the side though.

think we are going to win 2-0, crazy but think so. and think a draw is worst we should aim at. i have a ticket in section 110 for the ajax game at home too
 
NL will be pretty conservative - Biton's on the bench and I could see him being used as a late sub, but I can't see him starting.

Ambrose will be in back four, Mulgrew will play defensive MF, and otherwise your lineup will be correct.

I just want to see us avoid the early cheap goal like we allowed versus Juventus last year. We'll get some chances and have the quality to get a result if we avoid stupid mistakes or a bad decision by the ref.
 
I had it basically right except Lenny has Muldini in over Dirk. That's a decent call. Dirk brings more creativity, but if we're going to win on a set piece, Muldini brings a book and a tall head.
 
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