Serie A Preview: Last Chance for Leonardo as AC Milan Hosts AS Roma?

With the international break finally drawing to a close, two of Serie A’s biggest clubs gear up to battle it out at the mighty San Siro. AC Milan host AS Roma in one of round eight’s most anticipated clashes and considering the disappointing result over the weeks, much more than points will be on stake on Saturday.

Leonardo is in the hot seat after the club’s poor start to the campaign. The Brazilian’s men have only collected nine points in seven outings and currently sit on an unacceptable 12th place in the table.

Things are looking better at Roma who, after opening with two straight defeats, finally have broken into the top ten and remain unbeaten after Claudio Ranieri took over the reins.

Based on the latest encounters between the two, the numbers are in for the visiting side who have won on all three of their latest travels to the San Siro.

AC Milan

The international break came very timely for Milan who fell to their second consecutive draw against Atalanta two weeks ago. Despite playing against 10 men for most of the game, it wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Ronaldinho managed to level the score and spare the team from blushes.

Four days before the clash against Atalanta, the Rossoneri shockingly fell to a defeat to Swiss outfit FC Zürich in their own backyard in the second matchday of the Champions League.

Confidence is low and Leonardo is under heavy pressure after collecting a mere nine points in seven games—meaning that his future at the club could very well come to depend on the outcome of Sunday night’s important fixture.

According to reports from the Gazzetto dello Sport the Brazilian sat down with his players where the old guard supposedly convinced the tactician to switch the current 4-3-1-2 formation to a more solid 4-4-2 considering that the team has only scored four times and conceded almost the double.

On top of that, the team obviously lacks the components to successfully pull off the attacking minded formation.

Ronaldinho has once again been spotted out partying—this time in Paris. But the out of favour Brazilian has sworn to get back into form but it remains to be seen if Ronnie will be handed a starting shirt following his recent antics—but one has to bare his important equalizer against Atalanta in mind.

Possible starting XI according to the Gazzetta: Storari; Abate, Nesta, Kaladze, Zambrotta; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf; Ronaldinho, Pato

AS Roma

After spending two weeks on the bottom of the table, Luciano Spalletti resigned and former Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri took over and quickly switched his predecessor’s 4-3-1-2 to his own preferred 4-4-2 system. Lupi remains unbeaten since the switch and sit on eighth place with 11 points to their name.

The Giallorossi recorded their third victory of the season before the international break as they defeated Napoli at home by a 2-1 scoreline. The visitors grabbed an early lead through Ezequiel Lavezzi, but two goals courtesy of Francesco Totti overturned the scoreline in favor of Roma as they walked away with all three points.

However, the victory proved costly for Ranieri’s men as Marco Motta, Julio Sergio, and Francesco Totti all picked up injuries during the course of the game. The latest reports indicate that Er Pupone have shaken off his knee problems and should be able to make the trip up north. Considering Totti’s recent revival his participation could prove to be determining.

Although Roma just like Inter Milan and Genoa have scored 14 goals they, like Napoli, have the worst defensive record with 13 goals conceded. The defense has been looking shaky ever since the start of the season, leading the Tinkerman to put Philippe Mexes on the bench in favour of Juan and Inter loan Nicolas Burdisso.

On the other hand, the players have adopted a never-say-die attitude over the past couple of weeks and whereas they would normally throw in the towel they have fought back on several occasions and grabbed important points along the way.

Possible starting XI according to the Gazzetta: Doni; Cassetti, Burdisso, Mexes, Riise; Taddei, Pizarro, De Rossi, Perrotta; Totti, Vucinic