Palermo vs. AC Milan: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream & TV Info
The international break is over, and we can return to the important things in life—like trying to figure out exactly when AC Milan will fire Filippo Inzaghi.
In all seriousness, Milan did go into the break on a high note with a 3-1 win over Cagliari. The game was a footnote, however, to the fan protests that saw the San Siro nearly empty. Inzaghi will now try to build on that on Saturday when they play Palermo.
Date: Saturday, April 4
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Time: 2 p.m. local time, 1 p.m. GMT, 9 a.m. EDT
Venue: Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Preamble
This season Milan had hoped to emulate the likes of Juventus, Inter and Roma, who all have recently used a season with no commitments to European competition to focus entirely on the league and bounce back to form after down years. Unfortunately, that hope has never materialized.
Inzaghi has looked devoid of ideas. He sends decrepit veterans out in his starting XI while ignoring younger players that could potentially breathe life into the team. He has repeatedly shoehorned players into positions that don't maximize their talent.
With regards to young players, Pippo may have no choice but to send Spanish prospect Suso out onto the field Saturday. The youngster scored a brace in a friendly against Reggiana a week ago and has made it more and more difficult to leave him on the bench. There is a caveat though—the attacking midfielder played the game on the right wing, another instance of Inzaghi moving players around.
The home team will come into the match having having won a game since Valentine's Day. Indeed, they've only scored once since that 3-1 upset of Napoli, and the much-discussed strike pair of Paulo Dybala and Franco Vazquez has gone dormant.
To their credit, the Rosaneri have kept two clean sheets of their own during that five-game stretch and it took a wonderful curling strike from Alvaro Morata for Juventus to breach their massed defense three weeks ago. But if they want to finish the season on a high note, they'll need to start scoring—and Milan's leaky defense is a great way to jump-start an attack.
Form Lines
| Palermo | AC Milan |
| L @ Chievo 1-0 | W vs. Cagliari 3-1 |
| L vs. Juventus 1-0 | L @ Fiorentina 2-1 |
| D @ Cesena 0-0 | D vs. Verona 2-2 |
| D vs. Empoli 0-0 | D @ Chievo 0-0 |
| L 2-1 @ Lazio | W vs. Cesena 2-0 |
Predicted Lineups
| Palermo | Milan |
| Sorrentino | Lopez |
| Vitiello Terzi Gonzalez Daprela | Antonelli Mexes Paletta Abate |
| Barreto Maresca Rigoni | De Jong Poli Bonaventura |
| Vazquez | Menez Destro Suso |
| Dybala Belotti |
Players to Watch
Both teams have a pair of strikers that are struggling for form. For the home team, the focus is on Dybala, who has begun to show signs that the constant transfer buzz surrounding him is getting to his head.
The Argentine phenom hasn't scored in more than a month, and his lack of contribution has severely hampered the Rosaneri's attacking unit.
The club confirmed a weeks ago that the striker will be on the move next season, the latest in a long line of attacking talent to have departed from the Sicilian side. Owner Maurizio Zamparini has stated that Juventus and Arsenal are in play for his signature.
Many media outlets, including Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) have reported that the striker's goal is to stay in Italy, which seems to give Juve the edge, although it's not known whether Palermo's reported €40 million asking price will be too much.
The sooner the talk stops the better, because it's clearly getting into the 21-year-old's head.
At the tip of Milan's spear is Mattia Destro, who has mostly misfired since arriving on loan from Roma. He's only scored twice in seven appearances, and there are reports that they won't exercise their option to purchase his full rights over the summer.
Destro is at a crossroads in his career right now. If he doesn't start delivering on his considerable promise soon, he could turn into the next Marco Boriello—a wandering striker who can poke his goals in but never manages to become the long-term leader of a line.
The last 10 games of the season will be critical to him. If he starts scoring, he could finally deliver on his potential, but if he doesn't, he may be consigned to the scrap heap of the almosts.
Key Battle
Dybala has scored the most goals this season for Palermo, but Vazquez is ranked by WhoScored.com as the team's top player. He's scored seven times himself this year and added nine assists. The true creative engine of the team, Vazquez is the man who needs to be stopped if Milan want to keep Dybala from reawakening up front.
Fortunately the Rossoneri have a perfect solution—Nigel De Jong.
The Dutch enforcer is just the kind of player who can mark a guy like Vazquez out of a game. Palermo might be able to avoid him by pushing Palermo higher up the field as Dybala's strike partner, but he's better playing in the hole as a provider. If he does play there, Inzaghi can let De Jong loose on him in an attempt to keep him in check. If he manages to do that, Milan's chance for victory goes way up.
Odd (According to Odds Shark)
Palermo win: 3/2
Milan win: 2/1
Draw: 9/4
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