In what could well prove to be a defining fixture of the season for both the sides, Paulo Sousa’s Fiorentina will head to San Siro to take on Vincenzo Montella’s injury-stricken AC Milan outfit on Sunday evening.

 

La Viola will be back from Europa League action in Germany that saw them pick up a solid 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia Park on Thursday. A Federico Bernardeschi stunner at the end of the first-half was enough to hand Sousa’s men a vital away goal, which could prove vital as they look to progress to the Round of 16.
 

Their last league game saw Udinese suffer a 3-0 loss at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, a result which left the Tuscan's in 8th place in the Serie A standings, just a single point behind the rossoneri. 

 

Milan of course, had no European commitments in mid-week, but their hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio was enough to prove to many that they are good enough to be a top-four side. A late Suso equaliser was something that Milan probably deserved, considering how well they had played.


 

While it’s clear that Milan have fallen off the pace since making an impressive start to the campaign, they have let in the seventh least amount of goals in the league-28, behind the likes of Juventus, Lazio, Napoli, Roma, Inter and Atalanta. A recent spate of injuries to most of his defenders has forced Montella into fielding makeshift back-lines and the draw at Lazio was a prime example of this. 

 

In terms of finding the back of the net, Milan have scored the ninth most number of goals and the absence of a goalscorer who can rack up twenty odd goals in a campaign, is costing them dear. The injury to Giacomo Bonaventura has also played a part in their recent struggles in front of goal.

 

Defensive issues is also a concern for Fiorentina, whose net has been breached 33 times; five more than Milan. Consistently switching from a back-three to a  back-four has made sure that the La Viola have failed to settle on a consistent formation. 

 

When it comes to getting the goals though, Fiorentina have been a tad more efficient compared to Milan. Both Nikola Kalinic and Federico Bernardeschi have racked up ten goals each, while the latter has assisted four times too.

 

Injuries are still a major issue for the rossoneri, who will have Giacomo Bonaventura, Riccardo Montolivo, Davide Calabria, Mattia de Sciglio and Alessio Romagnoli all watching from the stands. The duo of Gabi Paletta and Juraj Kucka though, will be back after having served their respective suspensions.

For Fiorentina, January acquisition Riccardo Saponara remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. The biggest miss for La Viola however, will be that of Bernardeschi, who will serve his yellow card suspension at San Siro on Sunday.

 

 

AC Milan: Donnarumma; Abate, Paletta, Gomez, Vangioni; Locatelli, Kucka, Pasalic, Ocampos, Deulofeu, Suso

 

Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori; Salcedo, Badelj, Vecino, Milic; Valero, Bernardeschi, Babacar 



Kaustubh Pandey