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Played
September 18, 2010 7:45 PM BST
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza — Milano
Referee:‬ E. Morganti‎
Attendance:‬ 42637‎
 

Serie A Preview: Milan - Catania

The Rossoneri will aim to maintain their momentum...

By Subhankar Mondal

Ibrahimovic & Ronaldinho - Milan (Getty Images)
Mixed Start

Milan's 2010-11 campaign started on a high as they thumped Lecce 4-0 in their first game of the new Serie A season but last weekend the Rossoneri slumped to a 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Cesena.

However, Massimiliano Allegri's side bounced back in style in midweek, defeating Auxerre 2-0 at home in their opening match in the Champions League. Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both the goals against the French side and indeed is looking forward to scoring again on Saturday evening.

"There was a lot of pressure at Cesena as everyone had high expectations,'' said Ibrahimovic. "I had only just arrived.

"I'm delighted to have scored against Auxerre in front of the home fans and I am confident this is only the beginning. I believe I can do very well with this team.''

High On Confidence

Catania had to struggle for survival for much of last season and indeed some observers believe that the Sicilians could do the same this time around too. However, after a 2-1 defeat to Chievo in Verona in their first league fixture of the season, the Rossazzurri won 2-1 against Parma at home.

Defeating Milan at the San Siro is not going to be easy for Catania and coach Marco Giampaolo wasn't very impressed with their performance against Parma either.

He explained, "The three points taken against Parma give the team a boost in confidence. But I am by no means happy. We didn't play well against Parma and we still have to make that leap in quality.''

Whether Catania can inflate their quality to match that of Milan remains to be seen.


TEAM NEWS


Milan

Flamini, Ambrosini and Pato are injured and unavailable. This means that Robinho is likely to replace Pato on the right from the start.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Abbiati, Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Boateng, Pirlo, Seedorf; Robinho, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho

Catania

Sciacca is unavailable for the Sicilians.

Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2):
Andujar, Potenza, Silvestre, Spolli, Capuano; Biagianti, Carboni, Ledesma; Ricchiuti; Lopez, Mascara



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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
Head to Head
Italy - Serie A ‎(ITA1)‎ Apr 28, 2013 AC Milan 4 - Catania 2
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Italy - Serie A ‎(ITA1)‎ Nov 30, 2012 Catania 1 - AC Milan 3
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Italy - Serie A ‎(ITA1)‎ Mar 31, 2012 Catania 1 - AC Milan 1
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Italy - Serie A ‎(ITA1)‎ Nov 6, 2011 AC Milan 4 - Catania 0
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Italy - Serie A ‎(ITA1)‎ Jan 29, 2011 Catania 0 - AC Milan 2
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Last Five Matches
AC Milan
May 19, 2013Siena 1 - AC Milan 2ITA1
May 12, 2013AC Milan 0 - Roma 0ITA1
May 8, 2013Pescara 0 - AC Milan 4ITA1
May 5, 2013AC Milan 1 - Torino 0ITA1
Apr 28, 2013AC Milan 4 - Catania 2ITA1
Catania
May 19, 2013Torino 2 - Catania 2ITA1
May 11, 2013Catania 1 - Pescara 0ITA1
May 8, 2013Sampdoria 1 - Catania 1ITA1
May 5, 2013Catania 3 - Siena 0ITA1
Apr 28, 2013AC Milan 4 - Catania 2ITA1
Odds
Team News
Available Squads
Players to Watch
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 18
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
Ibrahimovic was on target twice against Auxerre in the Champions League in midweek and the Sweden international striker appears to have settled into life at Milan. The former Juventus and Inter forward will again play centrally and will look to score in the league.
Maxi López
Maxi López
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 10
Games Goals YC RC
17 4 1 0
Maxi Lopez will be Catania's main attacking weapon against a Milan backline that still looks vulnerable. An early goal for the Argentine could just make life tricky for the Rossoneri.
Probable Lineups
Christian Abbiati 32
Daniele Bonera 25
Thiago Silva 4
Alessandro Nesta 14
Luca Antonini 77
Clarence Seedorf 10
Andrea Pirlo 21
Kevin-Prince Boateng 10
Filippo Inzaghi 18
Zlatan Ibrahimovic 18
Ronaldinho 10
Mariano Gonzalo Andújar 21
Alessandro Potenza 2
Nicolás Federico Spolli 3
Matías Silvestre 6
Ciro Capuano 33
Marco Biagianti 27
Adrian Ricchiuti 24
Ezequiel Carboni 0
Mariano Julio Izco 13
Giuseppe Mascara 9
Maxi López 10
Results
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Edinson  Cavani Edinson Cavani
Striker
Napoli
29 7
Antonio Di Natale Antonio Di Natale
Striker
Udinese
23 4
Pablo Daniel Osvaldo Pablo Daniel Osvaldo
Striker
Roma
16 2
Stephan El Shaarawy Stephan El Shaarawy
Striker
Milan
16 0
Germán Denis Germán Denis
Striker
Atalanta
15 5