AC Milan vs Cagliari

AC Milan are back at the San Siro to host a resurgent Cagliari side who are fighting for their very survival as Serie A enters week 32. Both sides are coming off of tough results a week ago as Milan lost at home while Cagliari dropped 2 points at home.

The rossoneri suffered through a discouraging loss at home last week when they fell to Atalanta Bergamo by a score of 1-2 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The result leaves the side managed by Carlo Ancelotti on the outside looking in with respect to a Champions League qualifying slot in the league table. AC Milan are now in 6^th place of the league table with 49 points. They are 1 point back of 5^th place Udinese but still 4 points behind 4^th place Fiorentina which is the club they must catch in order to qualify for the Champions League. They are just ahead of 7^th place Sampdoria on goal difference. Milan have now hit a rough stretch over their last 4 games which has seen them lose 3 times. For this week’s match against Cagliari Ronaldo, Emerson, Serginho, Oddo and Jankulovski have been ruled out, while Nesta is out suspended for the next two games. Kaka’ is expected to be in the starting eleven this week.

Cagliari are coming off of a 1-1 draw at home to AS Roma last week at the Stadio Sant’Elia. That draw extended Cagliari’s positive run to 4 straight games without a loss. Over that stretch the sardi have posted 2 wins and 2 draws while outscoring their opponents 6-2. After spending much of the season in last place, Balardini’s squad are now in 18^th place of the league table and just behind the 3 clubs tied for 17^th place- Catania, Livorno and Parma on goal difference. Still, if the season were to end today, they would make the drop which makes every remaining match vital for the rossoblu. There will be 3 absences due to injury this week in Marchini, Shala and Bianco while Agostini returns to the starting eleven at left fullback.

On paper AC Milan should win this one without breaking a sweat but the current form of the two sides seems to indicate a much closer pairing. While Cagliari have won just once away from home this season, they have been playing with an urgency over the last month that was not present earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Milan’s injuries to Kaka’ and Seedorf of late have crippled their attack. If Kaka’ is not able to play to his normal production this week, Cagliari’s determination might be enough.

Prediction: Draw (1-1)