Milan - Udinese - 7M sport

Milan - Udinese

Posted Friday, February 12, 2010 by Goal.com

The Rossoneri would be looking to close the gap on leaders Inter for until Sunday at least.

Kick-Off: Friday, February 12, 2010, 20:45 CET.
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan.

Looking To Stave The Rot

Milan were looking in great shape and form until the Derby della Madonnina but their 2-0 defeat at the hands of nine-man Inter has forced them to struggle for points. Since then the Rossoneri have failed to win any match in any competition, have been knocked out of the Coppa Italia and have also slipped to third in the Serie A table.

At the moment Leonardo's side have 42 points from 22 games but a win against Udinese would lift them to second for at least 24 hours. Their Champions League fixture against Manchester United on Tuesday has allowed them to play Udinese on Friday evening and the Rossoneri would be eager to take advantage of that.

However, Milan wouldn't be able to afford to rest any key player, even though they would certainly have one eye on Tuesday's titan clash. Alessandro Nesta has been suffering from injuries for quite some time now but he would have to be there at the heart of the Rossoneri defense against Udinese to see that they do not concede any cheap goal.

Hope Remains

Udinese had been steadily spiraling down to the bottom of the abyss but appear to have started their recovery last weekend when they defeated high-flying Napoli 3-1, inflicting upon Walter Mazzarri his first defeat in Serie A as Napoli coach.

That win lifted the Bianconeri to 15th in the table with 24 points from 22 matches. Which should be encouraging but it must be daunting for the Udine-based side as they now have to travel to Milan to take on the former Italian and Champions League winners.

Udinese's away form is not very impressive either as they are the only side in the Italian top flight in the current campaign not to have won any match away from home in the league. They have lost seven times on their travels this season in Serie A.

FORM GUIDE

Milan
February 7 v Bologna (A) - DREW 0-0 (Serie A)

January 31 v Livorno (H) - DREW 1-1 (Serie A)

January 27 v Udinese (H) - LOST 1-0 (Coppa Italia)

January 25 v Inter (A) - LOST 2-0 (Serie A)

January 17 v Siena (H) - WON 4-0 (Serie A)

Udinese

February 7 v Napoli (H) - WON - 3-1 (Serie A)

February 4 v Roma (A) - LOST 2-0 (Coppa Italia)

January 31 v Catania (A) - DREW 1-1 (Serie A)

January 24 v Bari (H) - WON 2-1 (Serie A)

January 20 v Atalanta (H) - DREW 2-2 (Serie A)

TEAM NEWS

Milan

Pato, Oddo, Onyewu and Zambrotta all have been ruled out of Friday's fixture while Flamini, Seedorf and Thiago Silva are reportedly struggling with injuries. Borriello is likely to start ahead of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Probable Lineup (4-2-1-3): Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Beckham, Borriello, Ronaldinho

Udinese

Domizzi, Ferronetti, Basta, D'Agostino and Obodo are unavailable for the trip to Milan while Pepe, Isla and Handanovic are struggling.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Handanovic, Isla, Coda, Zapata, Lukovic; Inler, Sammarco, Asamoah; Floro Flores, Sanchez, Di Natale

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ronaldinho (Milan)

The Brazilian was in superb form until late. Ronaldinho went missing against Inter in the Derby della Madonnina and Milan lost. However, the former Barcelona playmaker would be keen on resuming his raring form and crashing Udinese on Friday evening, and sending out a warning message to Manchester United.

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)

The Italian striker scored another superb hat-trick against Napoli on Sunday and actually netted twice in injury time. It took Di Natale's tally to 16 league goals in just 17 starts. The 32-year-old had gone missing for a while but he is back in business and the fragile Milan defense would have to take special care of him.

PREDICTION

Milan have been struggling of late and although they are at home, they wouldn't find it easy against Udinese. The visitors must have been encouraged with their performance against Napoli last weekend but they would be lucky to get a point on Friday evening.

Milan 2-1 Udinese