The lineups are out, and they are interesting. Ronaldinho, Robinho, and Pirlo sit for Milan, while Miccoli sits for Palermo. Milan are obviously showing some serious respect for Palermo’s attacking midfielders.
A.C. Milan - Palermo: Pre-Match Primer
A.C. Milan Lineup (4-4-2 Diamond): Abbiati / Antonini, Thiago Silva, Yepes, Abate / Flamini, Ambrosini, Prince-Boateng, Seedorf / Pato, Ibrahimovic
Palermo Lineup (4-3-2-1, Christmas tree): Sirigu / Balzaretti, Bovo, Muñoz, Cassani / Nocerino, Bacinovic, Migliaccio / Ilicic, Pastore / Pinilla
As mentioned, A.C. Milan have Robinho and Ronaldinho as serious attacking options off the bench, while Palermo have the aforementioned Miccoli, as well as Maccarone. If things get a bit out of hand for either side, they will have the ability to change the game.
The fact that Allegri has opted for both Mathieu Flamini and Kevin Prince-Boateng in the same lineup tells you that he has the utmost respect for both Javier Pastore and Josep Ilicic. Flamini and KPB aren’t technical wizards like Pirlo and Seedorf or crunching tacklers like Gattuso and Ambrosini, but they are the two most athletic midfielders that Milan have at their disposal. However you want to look at it, either Andrea Pirlo or Ronaldinho was sacrificed to get both of these guys on the field in an attempt to nullify Pastore and Ilicic. This means that Clarence Seedorf might become the most important player on the pitch for either team, as he’ll have to be the creator if Palermo don’t give Milan’s front two any easy opportunities with bad mistakes.
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