Champions League
2013-08-28 - AC Milan vs PSV Eindhoven
A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser
Football : UEFA Champions League
Venue: San Siro Stadium
Wednesday 28th August 2013 – Kickoff time 20:45
Match Preview :
AC Milan have all to do when they play host to PSV Eindhoven in the return leg as the match stands at 1-1 and they put themselves into this position after failing to put the game away last week in Eindhoven, which seemingly threw them into this position.
AC Milan have only two options here and that is either a scoreless draw will see them through or they must get the win here at all cost. You cannot blame Milan as last week Allegri failed to prepare his team to start off with a winning mentality to get the win from the first match of the season.
The team that Milan started last week were young and they were very dangerous on attack, and kept on attacking. In short they were hungry for success. No doubt that inexperience showed at times, in fact a defensive slip up gave PSV the chance to get the equalizer which showed that PSV is also dangerous on the counter-attacks.
Milan will have home ground advantage on Wednesday, more talent and more experience the PSV. The question then is which Milan players will rise to the occasion and get them the winning goal?
PSV Eindhoven last weekend managed a 1-1 draw with Heracles, which was their first slip-up in the league this season, where they had won their previous three matches. Now they will hope that midfielder Wijnaldum can recover in time after being injured in the 1-1 draw at the weekend. But they may see the return of Bakkali, their 17 year old striker who is scoring goals and turning heads.
Cocu may have shown what his side is capable of in the first leg and now it is up to Allegri to come up with the answers. He will have seen what Milan is weak at in the first leg and will be incredibly determined to exploit them. Cocu and a young Park Ji-Sung were part of the PSV squad that Milan defeated in the Champions League semifinals in 2005. PSV will be keen with their young side to defeat Milan and prevent them from making the group stages which woul eb a sweet victory after all.
Milan are hard pressed to qualify. After all, they have so many players who are so young, and may not fully realize what they are playing for and at stake here. In three times that Milan have joined the group stage through the qualification stage, they have always qualified. But the question now is can this squad dig deep and keep that tradition when they take on PSV today?
Boateng trained with the side, so he should be back in the lineup, and De Jong was on the bench Saturday, so should be available as well. De Sciglio and Robinho are apparently fit again which gives Allegri more options. De Sciglio is likely to be entered into the lineup as Allegri is not likely to take a chance on players who just returned from injury.
Questions remains if Allegri will play Boateng in midfield and also start Robinho, who showed glimpes of his brilliance last weekend. Or will Allegri depend on his youth players in the side who has more hunger and pace then the ooposition? It is hard to pick which lineup will Allegri come up with which will ensure Milan goes through.
AC Milan have been known to come up with surprise results, as they did against Barcelona at the San Siro which shocked many. Milan have a lot at stake and they must get through to the group stages. Having won seven Champions League trophies in the past, it will be a big blow if they failed to get past the qualifying stage into the group stages.
Prediction:
Go for AC Milan to win and give the 1 ball here.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
AC Milan 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
