Milan - Roma
Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that his former club don’t come back to haunt him in Week 10. With Juventus five points clear at the top, and ‘only’ facing Reggina, the Rossoneri know they must beat Roma or risk giving the Turin giants an advantage which may be too much to claw back.
The Italian champions are in good form after a sluggish start to the season. They’ve collected 13 points from their last 15, conceding no goals in the process. Expect Ancelotti to field his strongest side possible given the sheer importance of the San Siro clash. However, Jaap Stam and Pippo Inzaghi are unlikely to be available due to injury.
Shevchenko will return to the starting line-up after he started the Samp game on the bench. However, he illustrated how important he is to the side by coming on and scoring the only goal of the game.
Roma got back to winning ways after their set-back at Juventus. They thrashed Cagliari 5-1 after boss Gigi Del Neri decided to dump his trident attack in favour of a more solid 4-4-2. Vincenzo Montella was left on the bench but he replaced a disappointing Antonio Cassano to score twice in the break. The youngster may not even be in the squad given his latest capital tantrum as he was left out of the Bayer Leverkusen tie.
First choice ‘keeper Ivan Pelizzoli and Olivier Dacourt remain doubts, as does Christian Panucci. It’s unclear whether he will be reintegrated into the side after clashing with Del Neri over two weeks ago. Given his quality, they could certainly do with him in the right-back role.
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Milan (probable): Dida; Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Pancaro; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Kakà; Shevchenko, Crespo.
Roma (probable): Zotti; Sartor, Ferrari, Dellas, Cufrè; Mancini, Perrotta, De Rossi, D'Agostino; Totti, Montella
Ref: To follow...
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Fiorentina - Inter
Roberto Mancini is still smarting from the home draw with Lazio and must now face another of his former clubs – in-form Fiorentina.
The Inter Coach was expected to challenge for the Scudetto after an intelligent transfer campaign, but with seven draws from his first nine games he is already 12 points adrift of leaders Juventus. The giants cannot seem to hold on to a lead in Serie A and will have to do without the suspended Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield, while Christian Vieri and Nicolas Andre Burdisso are also fighting to be fit. It’s likely we’ll see Andy van der Meyde come into the midfield, while Dejan Stankovic and Obafemi Martins return after they were rested against Lazio.
The Viola could not be welcoming Inter at a better time, as caretaker Coach Sergio Buso has been given a semi-permanent status following two convincing victories on the trot. The 4-0 demolition of Lecce showed the potential that this squad had in the summer and Martin Jorgensen will be eager to score against the club that courted him for many years. Christian Rigano is still out of action with that thigh problem, but Fabrizio Miccoli should be fit despite being stretchered off on Sunday. A victory here would undoubtedly keep Buso on the Fiorentina bench and put some serious pressure on the previously untouchable Mancini.
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Fiorentina (probable): Lupatelli; Delli Carri, Viali, Dainelli; Ariatti, Maresca, Obodo, Chiellini; Jorgensen, Nakata; Miccoli
Inter (probable): Fontana; J Zanetti, Cordoba, Materazzi, Favalli; van der Meyde, Cambiasso, Davids, Stankovic; Martins, Adriano
Ref: To follow...
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