Milan-Roma
LIVE on British Eurosport (KO 2pm UK time)
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
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Football matches don’t come more decisive than this, as at the end of the 90 minutes either Milan will be celebrating their 17th Scudetto or Roma will have blown the title race wide open.
The gap was cut to just six points when the leaders were held at Udine – only the second time this season they have failed to find the back of the net – while Roma emphatically trounced Empoli.
Psychologically the momentum appears to be with the Giallorossi after picking up 13 points from their last five games and the one to watch is Francesco Totti. The captain is not an out and out striker, but has taken his tally to a personal best of 20 goals and is now just one behind Capocannoniere Andriy Shevchenko.
Forced to miss out on the midweek Italy-Spain friendly with a calf problem, there are few doubts he and Antonio Cassano will be ready for Sunday’s showdown. The attacking options are slightly limited by a ban to John Carew and Vincenzo Montella’s knee surgery, so Marco Delvecchio is the only real alternative on the bench.
Milan appear to be slowing down in recent weeks and the disappointing form of Kaka’ has been a deciding factor. Nonetheless, Carlo Ancelotti is expected to stick with the lone striker system and either Clarence Seedorf or Manuel Rui Costa will take that second supporting role. Pippo Inzaghi, Kakha Kaladze and Giuseppe Pancaro are battling to be fit in time for this clash, while it will be an occasion to relish for former Roma star Marcos Cafu.
The prudent approach at the Stadio Friuli will probably not be replicated here, as Milan know they need to make home advantage count. Above all, the history books are reassuring with the fact that Roma have not conquered the San Siro for 17 years, while all three meetings this season between Serie A and the Coppa Italia have gone to Milan with a 2-1 result.
Someone will be celebrating in the San Siro whatever the result come Sunday evening. A win would mathematically crown Milan Champions, while a draw would leave them needing just one point from the last two games to be sure. Roma’s first victory here since 1987 would slice the lead to just three points and the knowledge that the Rossoneri’s run-in is more complex with a trip to Reggina and welcoming Roberto Baggio’s Brescia.
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Milan (probable): Dida; Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Costacurta; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Rui Costa, Kaka; Shevchenko
Roma (probable): Pelizzoli; Panucci, Samuel, Chivu, Lima; Mancini, Emerson, Dacourt, D’Agostino; Totti, Cassano
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发表于 2004-4-28 16:40:00
发表于 2004-4-28 20:30:00