AC Milan v Cagliari – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds – Serie A – 29 January 2012
AC Milan look to keep pace in the race for the Scudetto as they host 13th place Cagliari. The match will take place at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy on Sunday, January 29, 2012. Kickoff is scheduled for 14:45 EST (USA Eastern), 19:45 GMT (UK time), and 20:45 CET (Central Europe).
AC Milan v Cagliari TV Listings
The match will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA), ESPN (UK), Sky Calcio (Italy), Rogers Sportsnet (Canada), Viasat (Sweden/Norway), Sport 1 (Israel/Russia/Germany), SportKlub (Croatia/Poland/Serbia/Slovenia), SuperSport (Africa), Canal 1+ (Spain), Digi Sport (Hungary/Romania), and Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East).
AC Milan v Cagliari Preview
Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri
“I feel gratified by the club’s market movements but most of all, I feel lucky as a coach. In the last year and a half, they’ve brought in 20 players, all great players. Maxi Lopez has good physique as well as technique. He can play up front alone or with a partner. He’ll do well here.”
“We played a good game on Thursday. Technically we played well apart from a bit of defensive mistakes at the start of the game. After that, we conceded practically nothing to Lazio. We have to try and get to the end of January as best we can starting from tomorrow’s game against Cagliari, who always play well against the bigger teams. We need three points tomorrow to get to February in the right way.”
“Cagliari have brought in Dessena and Conti is coming back. They’ve bought Pinilla and Astori is back in as well. We’ll have to play well to win. Abbiati could come back in goal, I’ll have to see about Mesbah but we have Zambrotta and Antonini and so we’ve no problems. I haven’t yet decided but we could play with two strikers and a playmaker and I’ll have to see about Ambrosini, he’s had a fever, before I decide who plays on the right.”
“I was lucky to have put El Shaarawy on at the right moment. He’s grown a lot technically and physically but he still has room for improvement. He should just think about playing and growing but with kids it’s hard, they can explode in your hand and they shouldn’t have too much responsibility on their shoulders. He’s grown well in the last six months and I’m very happy. He could even start the game, but I might play with Robinho and Ibrahimovic instead. “
“February is a month with a lot of important games. It’ll be very intense and we’ll ahve to be lucky with injuries. We’ll have to keep our concentration levels high, which comes naturally here, and good physical conditions.”
“There are still a few days left before the end of the transfer window. Maxi Lopez is here and he’s a very complete player. I’m a bit disappointed about Tevez, he’s a real champions and he wanted to come here but what has happened has happened and that’s fine.”
“In the end it’s results that count and Juventus are getting great results. They haven’t lost in 19 games, they’re doing great things and together with us and Udinese who are only three points behind, they’re favorites for the title.”
“Boateng is recuperating and is being evaluated day by day but he’s on the road to recover. Aquilani is doing very well and could be back before we’ve anticipated. After a week of nothing but rest, Pato will start his recovery either today or tomorrow. Flamini from next week will start to get back training with the team. For Merkel, he’ll be out for at least a month. Cassano is continuing with his treatment and checkups to get the all clear to come back. Gattuso finished his treatment yesterday and will be back at the Milanello sports centre today. Yepes’ ankle is getting much better. There’s a good chance that he’ll be back a little bit early, he might be back at the end of February or the start of March.”
“We already have a squad of 30 players and that’s a lot. But we’re fine and there shouldn’t be any more additions. The club knows that if we need a reinforcement we’ll find one. We have a lot of injuries, but we’re not crying about it because that’s not the way we are. We’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s game because Emanuelson is doing well and can play in more than one position and as well, Ambrosini played a good game against Novara. “
“I haven’t seen Lopez yet and I don’t know if he’ll be training with us today or not. He has to do his medical.”
“Ahead of this tour de force, we’re in good shape both physically and mentally, we’ve played some good games and we’ve got great results so far. The derby was the only game we lost and we didn’t deserve to lose that match. We got straight back winning in the cup against Novara and we’ll try and finish the month of January as best we can. We can still grow in terms of how we’re playing and we will.”
Team Serie A Stats
| AC Milan | Cagliari | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches Played | 19 | 19 |
| Table Position | 2 | 11 |
| Points | 40 | 23 |
| Goal Difference | 23 | -2 |
| Goals for * | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| Goals against * | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Last 5 | W-L-W-W-W | D-D-W-L-L |
| Last 5 home | L-W-W-W-W | D-W-L-D-D |
| Last 5 away | W-W-W-D-W | D-L-W-L-L |
| * Goals per match – home matches for home club and away matches for away club | ||
| AC Milan | Cagliari | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Zlatan Ibrahimovic 14 | Daniele Conti 3 |
| Assists | Antonio Cassano 7 | Daniele Conti 2 |
| Yellows | Kevin-Prince Boateng 4 | Daniele Conti 7 |
| Reds | Kevin-Prince Boateng 2 |
Upcoming Serie A Fixtures
| AC Milan | Cagliari | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/29 | Cagliari | 1/29 | @AC Milan |
| 2/1 | @Lazio | 2/1 | AS Roma |
| 2/5 | Napoli | 2/5 | @Novara |
| 2/12 | @Udinese | 2/12 | Palermo |
| 2/19 | @Cesena | 2/19 | @Udinese |
AC Milan v Cagliari Prediction
AC Milan wins 2-0
AC Milan v Cagliari Betting Odds
AC Milan win – 2/7
Draw – 7/2
Cagliari win – 17/2
