Analysis:

A.C Milan are firing on all cylinders and they are seeking their sixth consecutive win when they welcome Palermo for this fixture. Even though they managed a 1-1 draw with F.C Zurich, make no mistake that they can do no mistake in Serie A.

Since beating A.S Roma 2-1 on 18 October, Leonardo’s men have notched up seven victories and a stoppage-time 2-2 draw at Napoli. The manner in which they disposed of Sampdoria last week was so impressive that Vice-President Adriano Galliani declared it was “a different sport” to the rest of Serie A.

However, they paid the price as they will miss Thiago Silva for up to two months with a calf strain could affect them in some ways after his wonderful partnership with Allessandro Nesta. The only alternatives will be Kakha Kaladze and Giuseppe Favalli, as Daniele Bonera, Oguchi Onyewu and right-back Massimo Oddo are also injured. The good news is that Gianluca Zambrotta will be back after serving his suspension. Mathieu Flamini also could return and give Massimo Ambrosini a rest in midfield.

As for Palermo, they have begun their revival under new coach Delio Rossi. They beat Cagliari last week and also advanced in the Coppa Italia. But the fact remains they have a poor away record with just one win, one draw and five defeats!

The visitors does not have a good record at San Siro either. Last season they were beaten 3-0 and that was their 19thdefeat in 22 visit to Milan. They have also drawn two and won one way back in 22nd October 2006.

Perhaps the only good news for the visitors is that they will be able to feature Fabrizio Miccoli after his two match ban was reduced to one so he is able to partner Edinson Cavani and Fabrizio Simplico. Giulio Migliaccio was not so fortunate and is suspended for this tie, but Fabio Liverani returns after his suspension as well.

Cheers and good luck,
Cruiser

The Statistics :

MILAN_AC LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2009-12-05	W	3-0	H v Sampdoria
	2009-11-22	W	4-3	H v Cagliari
	2009-10-31	W	2-0	H v Parma
	2009-10-18	W	2-1	H v Roma_AS
	2009-09-27	D	0-0	H v Bari
	2009-09-20	W	1-0	H v Bologna
PALERMO LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2009-11-29	L	1-0	A v Chievo
	2009-11-08	L	3-1	A v Bologna
	2009-10-29	L	5-3	A v Inter_Milan
	2009-10-18	W	1-2	A v Livorno
	2009-09-27	D	1-1	A v Lazio
	2009-09-20	L	1-0	A v Parma

HEAD TO HEAD MILAN_AC v PALERMO
DATE	HOME	SCORE	AWAY
2009-04-26	Milan_AC	3-0	Palermo
2008-02-24	Milan_AC	2-1	Palermo
2006-10-22	Milan_AC	0-2	Palermo
2005-10-23	Milan_AC	2-1	Palermo
2005-05-20	Milan_AC	3-3	Palermo

The Pick :

HANDICAP BETTING :