Giuseppe Bellini
If Pescara win their next match they will have made history, winning thrice consecutively in Serie A for the first time. There is, however, one small problem. They're away at Inter.
After the jaw-droppingly incredible match which saw Pescara sink Fiorentina 2-0 in the last round, Cristiano Bergodi's side look increasingly like they may do the impossible and keep their heads above water. That may not be a great idea for most dolphin species, but for this Abruzzese motley crew it would be a remarkable achievement, given they have only ever survived Serie A relegation once in five previous attempts.
They have established a four point gap above the relegation zone, though that could -- and probably will -- come crashing down with defeat away at the San Siro against Inter Milan on Saturday night. The form book bizarrely gives the pre-match advantage to the biancazzurri, with Andrea Stramaccioni's side having gone down 3-0 against Udinese in the last match after a 1-1 draw with Genoa.
Nevertheless, prior to their win over the viola at the Artemio Franchi last weekend, Pescara had lost six on the bounce away from the Adriatico, and were heavily reliant on their eccentric young goalkeeper Mattia Perin in their streak-ending victory. Regardless of recent results, this game probably won't be pretty for the visitors, who have won just twice on the road all season -- an amount as small as the number of games Inter have lost in Milan.
One lifeline for Pescara to cling on to is Inter's sizeable list of absences, with two of their starting three centre-backs -- Andrea Ranocchia and Juan Jesus -- suspended amidst a host of injury issues. The delfini have a few unavailable players of their own, though that doesn't seem to have hampered them in recent weeks.
Inter Milan Injuries and Suspensions
Out: Dejan Stanković, Joel Obi, Luca Castellazzi, Yuto Nagatomo, Philippe Coutinho, Ricky Alvarez (injured) Andrea Ranocchia, Juan Jesus (suspended) Wesley Sneijder (leave of absence). In doubt: Walter Samuel, Walter Gargano.
Pescara Injuries and Suspensions
Out: Uroš Ćosić, Simone Romagnoli (injured) Eugenio Togni (suspended) Juan Fernando Quintero (with Colombia U20s).
Match Date/Time: Saturday 12th January 2013 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: San Siro, Milan, Italy
TV: Sky Calcio 1, Premium Calcio (Italy), RAI Internazionale (U.S.)
There are 0 Comments. Add Yours.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.