Preview: Fiorentina vs. AC Milan – prediction, team news, lineups

Compensation after conflicting results in Europe, Florence And AC Milan meet at the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the Serie A showdown on Sunday evening.

While the Viola ultimately prevailed against modest Conference League opponents, Milan were unable to build on their improved domestic form and suffered a second Champions League defeat in two games.

Game preview

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Having reached the final in each of the last two years, Fiorentina were overwhelming favorites to win against Welsh underdogs The New Saints as they began their final Conference League campaign on Thursday; However, it took over an hour for TNS to fail.

Yacine Adli The scoring finally began in the 65th minute Moise Kean Shortly afterwards he effectively secured the points by converting a rebound from close range into the goal.

They had previously only managed to beat Puskas Academy in the play-offs on penalties, and Fiorentina’s league form has been inconsistent since Rafaelle Palladino took over from the former coach Vincenzo Italiano.

The Viola had not won any of their first four Serie A games deep into September before beating Lazio, and a dull derby draw against Tuscan rivals Empoli last weekend caused even more frustration.

After a goalless draw at the Stadio Castellani, Fiorentina finished in 11th place the ranking listaveraged just over a point per game.

However, they have been difficult to beat on home soil for some time and have lost just one of their last 11 league games in Florence – against none other than Milan in March.

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Including the 2-1 win that completed the double against Fiorentina last season, Milan have won six of their last eight Serie A games against the hosts on Sunday.

While the Rossoneri went into the weekend unbeaten in four league games and, most importantly, ended Inter Milan’s dominance in the derby, they were unable to repeat this form against top-class opponents in Europe.

Passed some tough tests in the Champions League, Paulo FonsecaThe German team initially lost at home to Liverpool and then had to admit defeat to German champions Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday evening.

Milan have now won just nine of their last 33 games at elite level, despite reaching the 2023 semi-finals, and there is still a lot of catching up to do if they are to secure a coveted top-eight spot in the new semi-final league stage.

Back on the domestic scene, the Rossoneri were in third place after six games in Serie A after last week’s 3-0 win over Lecce when goals were scored Alvaro Morata, Theo Hernandez And Christian Pulisic put them at the top of the scoring with 14.

This represents the club’s second-best record at this stage of a season since the turn of the century and proves that while Fonseca’s teams are always plagued by defensive doubts, they often perform better than weaker opponents.

Form of Fiorentina Serie A:

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

AC Milan Serie A form:

AC Milan form (all competitions):

Team news

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Apart from keeping it Christian Kouame – and the Ivorian’s shift forward – Raffaele Palladino changed his entire starting XI midweek; On Sunday evening, Fiorentina will be back in full force.

Palladino switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation in the Derby dell’Arno against Empoli and then continued this formation against TNS. However, it remains to be seen whether the hosts will resort to a more familiar back three to keep Milan at bay.

Defensive trio Luca Ranieri, Pietro Comuzzo And Lucas Martinez Quarta will return after serving UEFA bans, expanding Palladino’s options, but Croatian centre-back Marin Pongracic is ruled out again due to a thigh problem.

Meanwhile, Milan have of course named a strong team to face Leverkusen and few changes are expected for the final game before the international break.

Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata will either fight for a place or join forces in attack, but Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic will definitely feature in the final third.

Leao scored his first Milan goal against Fiorentina in 2019 and also scored in his last three league games against Fiorentina; Meanwhile, Pulisic, who was nominated for Serie A Player of the Month in September, has scored in each of his last three top-flight appearances.

Marco Sportiello (Hand), Ishmael Bennacer (ankle) and Alessandro Florenzi (ACL) are also all offside Ruben Loftus Cheek (Bender) and Captain Davide Calabria (Calf).

Possible Fiorentina starting lineup:
De Gea; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Biraghi; Cataldi, Bove; Colpani, Gudmundsson, Gosens; Kean

Possible AC Milan starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Morata, Leao; Abraham

We say: Fiorentina – AC Milan 1:1

Although Milan’s domestic form is on the rise, Fiorentina are rarely beaten on Tuscan soil and should be able to withstand their visitors from the second city.

The Rossoneri are still vulnerable at the back, so the Viola can score at least once and add another point to their modest Serie A tally.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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