The quickest post ever

By: Mostafa | April 18th, 2009

We are already Done!

Di Carlo:

“[Marco] Giampaolo’s squad are going through a very good moment and are coming off a nice win,” affirmed the former Parma coach, as reported by Sportmediaset.it.

“For this reason I don’t agree with the ‘easy’ definition. We respect Siena and we know that it will be a very difficult game, but we will have to give all that we have on the pitch. It’s too important.

“Right now we’re still in the run to avoid relegation and the biggest credit has to be handed to the lads, who never gave up in the most difficult moments.”

I’m Really Sorry I can’t do a full post these days but i’m trying to keep you guys posted.

Preview:

Kick-Off: Sunday 19 April, 15:00 CET. Artemio Franchi Stadium, Siena.

Siena Aiming For Magical 40 Point Barrier

Siena were undoubtedly one of the surprise packets in the early stages of the campaign, as they found themselves comfortably in the top ten of the standings for the large part of the first half of the season.

Since then however, their results have been fairly inconsistent, and consequently their position in the league table has suffered. The Bianconeri currently find themselves in 15th place, however to their credit, their results have improved of late, meaning that they are now eleven points clear of the drop zone with just seven matches remaining.

The Tuscan based outfit come into this match off the back of two impressive victories over Lazio and Bologna more recently. In fact, their 4-1 demolition of the promoted club on the road last weekend, led to the unfortunate sacking of Sinisa Mihajlovic as coach of the club.

Incredibly, three points for Siena this weekend could see them climb as high as 11th, obviously depending on other results. To make matters a little difficult for them though, they will have to do it without their number one goal keeper Gianluca Curci, as well as their main man up front, Massimo Maccarone, a man who has scored seven times this term.

A win would allow Marco Giampaolo’s men to finally reach that magical 40 point mark, which certainly would all but secure their spot in the topflight next season. With just three defeats in 15 home matches thus far, they will be confident of doing exactly that.

Chievo Surging To Safety

Chievo have been absolutely incredible in 2009, as they have proven their worth in the Serie A. For a side that was languishing in the bottom two for so long in the first half of the season, they have done extremely well to fight back, and get themselves out of the danger zone for the time being.

Their fate seemed all but sealed a few months ago, as another season in Serie B looked on the cards. A dramatic turn around in form though, especially on the road, has seen them leapfrog out of the drop zone, and into a position whereby they can start to gain some breathing space over the struggling bottom three.

Prior to last weekend’s unfortunate 1-0 home defeat against Milan, the Flying Donkeys had sensationally lost just one of their past 13 league matches, with that coming against Fiorentina back in late February. On that day, a late brace by Adrian Mutu guided the Viola to a shock 2-1 victory in Florence.

Irrespective of the final result this weekend, Chievo’s position in the table cannot worsen, and on the flip side, a victory and three points could see them sit a comfortable eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Despite being defeated 2-0 against Siena in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign, Domenico Di Carlo’s men will certainly be confident of avoiding defeat yet again, especially keeping in mind their commendable form on the road, which is just as good as Roma and Fiorentina respectively.

FORM GUIDE

Siena

April 11 v Bologna (A) WON 4-1

April 5 v Lazio (H) WON 2-0

March 22 v Fiorentina (A) LOST 0-1

March 15 v Milan (H) LOST 1-5

March 8 v Catania (A) WON 3-0

Chievo

April 11 v Milan (H) LOST 0-1

April 5 v Juventus (A) DREW 3-3

March 22 v Palermo (H) WON 1-0

March 15 v Lazio (A) WON 3-0

March 8 v Cagliari (H) DREW 1-1

TEAM NEWS

Siena:

The always improving Bianconeri outfit have been dealt two major blows in the lead up to this clash, as their number one keeper Gianluca Curci, as well as Massimo Maccarone are certain to miss through injury. In fact, it has been reported that the latter will be out for around 40 days with a grade three strain of his right thigh, meaning that he will sit out the remainder of the season. They join Luca Rossettini and Lorenzo Del Prete out on the sidelines with injury.

Possible Starting XI – (4-3-1-2): Eleftheropoulos; Zuniga, Portanova, Brandao, Del Grosso; Codrea, Vergassola, Galloppa; Kharja; Ghezzal, Calaió.

Chievo:

Thankfully for the visitors’ sake, there aren’t any major concerns for them to deal with at this point in time. Domenico Di Carlo will be without the injured trio of Stephen Makinwa, Fabio Moro and Kerlon, whilst the club captain Sergio Pellissier has been declared fit to play after shaking off a minor injury. He is likely to be partnered up front by Erjon Bogdani, in Di Carlo’s traditional 4-3-1-2 set-up.

Possible Starting XI – (4-3-1-2): Sorrentino; Sardo, Morero, Yepes, Mantovani; Luciano, Rigoni, Marcolini; Pinzi; Pellissier, Bogdani.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Siena – Houssine Kharja: The former Roma player was highly instrumental the last time these two sides met, so hopefully for the fans of the club, he can replicate that performance once again this weekend. Most of Chievo’s attention will be directed towards Ghezzal and Calaió up front, so Kharja’s role in behind the two strikers could be pivotal to the final result.

Chievo Verona – Sergio Pellissier: The captain of the club greatly contributed to his side’s promotion to the top flight last term with a remarkable tally of 22 goals. Despite not being able to replicate that form consistently in Serie A, his first hat-trick for the club against Juventus two weeks ago, allowed him to take his tally this season to a respectable nine. He has scored almost one third of his side’s goals this term, so the Bianconeri back four will have to monitor his every move.

PREDICTION This match is certainly one of the toughest to call this round. Siena have been so consistent all season, and their home form speaks for itself. Having said this though, prior to last weekend’s defeat against Milan, Chievo are in simply incredible form, so for that reason, and due to the injuries to key players for the home side, I’m tipping a crucial victory for the visitors in this one.

Siena 1-2 Chievo

Adrian Del Monte, Goal.com

Erjon Bogdani:

Chievo Verona striker Erjon Bogdani spoke about last weekend’s 1-0 defeat against Milan, which many believe was an undeserved one for his side.

In fact, the Gialloblu had several chances to score, but in the end they were unlucky to end the match with no points after Carlo Ancelotti’s men snuck home through a lone Clarence Seedorf strike.

“On Saturday we played very well,” declared Bogdani, as reported by Sportmediaset.it. “We often arrived in front of goal, but unfortunately we failed to finalise our chances.

“We ran, held the ball, created dangerous chances and also hit the bar with [Giampiero] Pinzi. We would have at least deserved the draw.

“In fact, at the end of the game, also the Milan players said so.”

Chievo will now face Siena this weekend, but Bogdani will not settle for a draw.

“Never! We must play to win the game,” he remarked. “Just like the coach always repeats, we must make the race on ourselves.

“Now we are five points above the relegation zone. Let’s think about maintaining this gap.”

Chievo are in 16th place with 31 points from 31 leagues games.

Luca Rigoni

Chievo Verona midfielder Luca Rigoni is targeting a win against Siena on Sunday as his side aim to maintain their lead over the relegation zone.

The Bianconeri, meanwhile, have virtually secured survival thanks to last weekend’s win at Bologna, and therefore they should be happy with just a point.

“It’s one of those games where we play a part of the season and the survival, and we want to remain in Serie A,” explained the Flying Donkey to Eurosport.

“We are still missing some points and we must arrive at least to 37 points as soon as possible. Also, because seven games are a lot and anything could happen.

“They are coming from a great result away from home against Bologna; they are physically fine and will want to reconfirm themselves.”

Chievo are currently in 16th place, with 31 points from 31 games played and a five point advantage over the bottom three.

There see that was quick