Both embroiled in a multi-club scrap for European qualification, AC Milan and Fiorentina will clash in Serie A’s Saturday night kickoff.
The Viola will visit San Siro with more points on the board than Milan for the first time since December 2017, as they aim to extend a four-point gap between the two sides.
Match preview
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Taking a break from their bleak top-flight fortunes, Milan fought out a 1-1 draw in Wednesday’s first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie with Inter Milan.
The Rossoneri may have extended a defeat-free streak against their city rivals to four matches, but they missed out on victory as Tammy Abraham‘s strike was cancelled out by a powerful equaliser from ex-Milan man Hakan Calhanoglu.
Under-fire coach Sergio Conceicao had his captain to thank for staying all square ahead of the second leg, which takes place later this month, as ‘Magic’ Mike Maignan pulled off a series of vital saves at San Siro.
Before reconvening with Inter for a fifth and final Derby della Madonnina of the season, Milan must try to salvage something from their ailing Serie A campaign, having sunk to ninth in the standings, nine points adrift of the all-important top four.
As a result, they face a battle to overcome contenders such as Juventus, Lazio, Bologna, Roma and this week’s opponents in order to secure a precious place in Europe.
Following Sunday’s 2-1 loss to title chasers Napoli, the Rossoneri have recorded four defeats from six league games under a single manager for the first time since 2019, during Marco Giampaolo‘s short-lived reign.
Like the now-Lecce boss, Conceicao’s stay in Italy’s second city is set to be brief, as a board guided by special advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic lines up yet another coach to take over in the summer.
Milan may have won their last four home games against Fiorentina, but even a form-defying victory this week would leave them a point behind their visitors with just seven rounds remaining – so, returning to the Champions League appears to be a distant dream.
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Following a 2-1 win in October’s reverse fixture, Fiorentina can now do the double over Milan for the first time in 24 years, as they aim to keep pressure on both Rome clubs, who sit just above them in the league table.
Either side of the international break, the Viola have conquered one of their direct rivals for a top-four finish, recovering from a dismal run of results that threatened to derail their domestic campaign.
First, they swept aside old foes Juventus, before beating Atalanta BC two weeks later, with star striker Moise Kean scoring the only goal to defeat La Dea, stealing the ball on halfway before racing clear and firing home.
Fiorentina have already accrued 51 points, and another success at San Siro would take them onto their best tally at this stage of a season since 2016 – on that occasion they ultimately finished fifth.
Having previously booked a place in the Conference League quarter-finals, Raffaele Palladino‘s men have plenty left to play, as they also aim to take one step further in UEFA’s third-tier tournament and finally return home with the trophy.
The Tuscan side will meet Slovenia’s NK Celje for the first leg of their last-eight tie next week, but first they must try to slay Milan for a second time this season.
Team News
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Yet to settle on a favoured formula in attack, Sergio Conceicao must again choose between Santiago Gimenez and Tammy Abraham to lead Milan’s front line on Saturday evening, with the English striker’s goal against Inter making him a slight favourite to start.
Rafael Leao and Alex Jimenez were selected on either flank in midweek, but the latter must now serve a suspension, opening up an opportunity for the likes of Riccardo Sottil and Samuel Chukwueze – alternatively, Christian Pulisic could shift across to the right.
While Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson Royal are still sidelined, USA midfielder Yunus Musah is expected to recover from an illness that ruled him out of Wednesday’s derby and compete for a place in midfield.
Having been ruled out of meeting former club Atalanta by a minor knee injury, Fiorentina wing-back Robin Gosens is now hopeful of returning to San Siro, where he once represented Inter.
The Viola will again be without Andrea Colpani, but Raffaele Palladino should otherwise have a full squad to choose from.
Sure to start up front, Moise Kean is set to make his 200th appearance in one of Europe’s top five leagues: the Italy forward will be aiming for a 20th Serie A goal involvement of the season, having scored 16 times and recorded three assists so far.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Bondo; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Fagioli, Cataldi, Mandragora, Gosens; Gudmundsson, Kean
We say: AC Milan 1-1 Fiorentina
These teams have drawn only one of their last 14 league meetings, but a stalemate is on the cards this weekend, when Milan will stumble again.
Fiorentina have turned a corner, keeping successive clean sheets and taking maximum points against two top-four contenders, so they are in good shape to secure at least a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
