Champions League: Milan Make Their Whole Group Play

By: Martha | December 4th, 2007

Trying again. Because of Milan’s commitments to the Club World Cup in Japan, the last Group D matches — Milan hosting Celtic, and Benfica traveling to Shakhtar — are being play today rather than next week, with everyone else.

Milan go into the match needing just a point to finish top of the group, assured of a helpful seeding going into the knockout stages. And, in many ways, a draw would suit Celtic, too — the point would send them happily though to the next round, albeit with the assurance they’ll face the winner of one of the other groups. If, however, Celtic win the match, they’ll leapfrog Milan to top the group, so Gordon Strachan might be tempted to forget the draw, and send his boys out like they’re in Serie A or something, clogging up the San Siro midfield and countering in hopes of grabbing a winning goal.

Though Celtic have never won in Italy, this might be their best chance, particularly if Carlo Ancelotti takes the match as an opportunity to rest workhorses Ricky Kaka and Andrea Pirlo, both of whom have played virtually every minute of every match this season, and will need any time off they can get in this punishing final month before the break. In addition to possibly resting some regulars, Ancelotti will also do without Marek Jankulovski, Ronaldo and Emerson (Wait, he’s still here?), all of whom are out injured.

Celtic, meanwhile, come into the match carrying a massive injury list — including John Kennedy, Lee Naylor, Shunsuke Nakamura, Jean-Joël Doumbé and Mark Wilson — that leaves them with, among other things, not a single healthy center back. Oh dear. They do, however, still have the services of new club hero Massimo Donati, whose goal at the death gave them the win over Shakhtar last week and vaulted them into second place in the Group. Go, Italy!

[JT at the Celtic blog has a great match preview up and is threatening to liveblog, so if you're trapped at work and can't watch, go by his place for updates.]