Champions League
2010-10-19 - Real Madrid vs AC Milan
A Sports Betting Pick by Shady
Football : Europe : UEFA Champions League
Tuesday, 19th October 2010 - kickoff 7:45pm
Match Analysis :
The last time both these sides met a year ago, Milan claim a famous 3-2 win over Real Madrid. The Santiago Bernabau faithful will like to avenge, by scoring a win here today and would almost guarantee them qualification for the knock out stages.
Real Madrid are somehow starting to click now and this is definitely a worrying sign for AC Milan. After being labelled "goal shy" Jose Mourinho's side responded by scored 10 goals in their last two games with Ronaldo getting a handful.
Cristiano Ronaldo who was missing chance after chance in the opening weeks of the season has changed his form tremendously in the past two weeks. He is in sensational scoring form and AC Milan will have to do everything they can to stop him. After scoring two against Deportivo, Ronaldo went on to score for his country last week and followed that up with two more goals against Malaga - and provided the other two goals.
The midfield combinational of Xabi Alonso and Kheidra has been eye catching and should cause problems for the veteran Milan midfielders. It is highly likely that Seedorf will struggle to receive the ball and with Seedorf having the tendency of losing possession like he did against Ajax in Matchday 2, Alonso could well punish the Milan players by delivering inch-perfect passes.
AC milan manager, Massimiliano Allegri will have to ponder over his starting lineup as his key defender, Thiago Silva is unlikely to feature in any part of this game while the likes of Seedorf, Pirlo and Gatusso seems a little too slow for the Madrid players.
With Jose Mourinho making a brave call by saying Allegri can play with as many strikers as he wants, this gives us a rough idea on what to expect on this highly anticipated game. Madrid will look to hit Milan on the counter attack or a fast play from defense to attack, therefore the more Milan attacks, the more Madrid would benefit from it.
Tactical Line Up :
Real Madird is likely to stick with the same 4-2-3-1 formational. Iker Casillas will feature in goal protected by Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe and Marcelo.
Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira will play the holding midfield role while Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria will play behind the front man, Higuain.
As for AC Milan, it is highly unlikely Allegri will deploy a 4-3-3 formation like he did at the weekend against Chievo. He is likely to start with a diamond heart 4-4-2 formation with Abbiati in goal protected by Zambrotta, Nesta, Bonera and Antonini.
In midfield, Pirlo will play the deeper role behind Gatusso and Flamini while Ronaldinho / Seedorf will play as the attacking midfielder behind Pato and Ibrahimovic.
The Betting Verdict :
Real Madrid failed to beat Ac Milan on both occasion last season, but things are pretty much different now and then. Real Madrid is now rock solid in defense and attacking has never really been a problem for them.
With Ronaldo in red-hot form, and Higuain and Ozil starting to click, the strike force of Ronaldo, Higuain, Ozil and Di Maria is just too much for this aging Ac Milan team to handle – especially Nesta.
The midfield paring of Pirlo and Gatusso is way too slow and I cant see how the pair of Italians can handle Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Marian when they run with the ball.
Jose Mourinho is no stranger to AC Milan and Italian football as he spend the last two season with city rivals, Inter Milan. With Mourinho’s knowledge of Italian football and AC Milan, I see this game only heading one way - a home win!
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Real Madrid to win at approx 1.60-1.65 (main bet)Consider trying Ronaldo to score as first goal scorer @ 3.61 or Ronaldo as anytime goal scorer @ 1.61
(both odds with bet365)
