Preview: Reggina – Palermo

By: Steven | February 12th, 2009

Sunday, February 15th, 2009 15.00
Stadio Oreste Granillo, Reggio Calabria

I warriors, brigate rosanero, siamo forti e vinceremo!

Preview
First off, I think an apology is in place. I have been neglecting you guys lately, and I feel pretty bad about it. I have an excuse though: I combine a full-time job with freelance writing, and I have been studying to pass my exams as an Italian interpreter/translator this week. Which I did. Two more years to go. And I hope this preview will make up for the neglect a little.

So, Reggina. All the way down in Serie A. Let’s take a look at the other teams surrounding the Reggio boys:

* Bologna: draw
* Lecce: draw
* Torino: loss
* Catania: loss
* Samp: win
* Chievo: win
* Reggina: win

Doesn’t look all that good, does it? To be completely honest: all of these games, except for the Samp one, we were on the loose. Now, we’re no longer The Joker, but more like Don Konkey: deep inside we’re still sick, but with the help of some pills we can manage to grab a hold of ourselves.

So what’s there to say about Reggina? Ever seen a bird ran over in the street, still trying to fly away although both it’s wings are broken and there’s guts everywhere? Well, that’s Reggina. It saddens me to see the team in such a state, but they will be playing Vicenza and AlbinoLeffe in stead of Milan and Palermo next year. Since Orlandi returned, they haven’t lost a game, including a 1-1 against Milan last week. Added to that is the fact that we have never won a Serie A match in Reggio. So it’s gonna be tough. But hey, if Juve can beat them 4-0, I think we may expect at least a 2-0 win here.

Squad Status

Palermo

It’s a weird situation this week. The backline is okay, Micco and Cavani will be fine up front, and Liverani returns. So what’s not good then? With Bresciano and Nocerino suspended, half of our starting midfield is out. And we all know what that means: Roberto.

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Balzaretti, Bovo, Kjaer, Cassani; Migliaccio, Liverani, Guana; Simplicio; Miccoli, Cavani

Reggina

Since there’s no Reggina Offside anymore, I guess I’ll do the honours. Or Channel 4, it’s all the same. “They also suffer the blow of losing their second top League scorer Francesco Cozza – with four goals – to a one-match suspension, along with Maurizio Lanzaro. Antonio Giosa, Luca Vigiani, Franco Brienza, Giovanni Ceravolo and Edgar Barreto are all sidelined through injury.”

Holy shit. I mean, when you’re already knee-deep in the dark, brown juice, losing Cozza, Ciccio AND Barreto is just a huge punishment.

Probable Lineup:
Campagnolo; Santos, Valdez, Cirillo; Costa, Barilla, Carmona, Hallfredsson, Krajcik; Corradi, Di Gennaro

Categorical Matchup

Butterfingers vs. Reggio’s Hope: Push. Yeah, didn’t see that one coming, did you? Last weak, Amelia was sketchy to say the least. Campagnolo is not a top 5 keeper, but he’s sure doing good things for Reggina this season.

Kid’s got Skills vs. 3 Man Mistake: Palermo. We all saw what Kjaer is capable of last week. This kid has got a great future in front of him. Reggina’s fielding a three-man defense. The last team that tried that were two behind after 20 minutes. Big mistake.

Bald, Bald, Brown, Brown vs. Who That?: Palermo. Except for Halfredsson, I don’t even know these guys. Not even the presence of Guana will give Reggina an advantage here.

Best thing since sliced bread vs. Second String: Palermo. Our boys are playing at their best, while Reggina only has Corradi.

Final Analysis

See that advantage for us in the match-ups? That’s the same score as against Torino and Chievo. We all know what can happen when we underestimate an opponent, so I’m not gonna say too much about it. I have a history of jinxing these games.

Form Guide

Palermo
WWLLW

Reggina
LLDDD

Previous Encounters:

Hell no.

Prediction
No fuckin’ way.

MOTM:

Miccoli