AC MILAN v FIORENTINA: MATCH PREVIEW
Serie A
AC Milan haven't had a 3 o'clock kick-off on a Sunday at San Siro since November when they lost to Sassuolo. That was the weekend after the defeat in Florence - the Rossoneri's first of the season. That game should serve as a reminder of the importance and difficulty of today's match. Fiorentina come to San Siro as AC Milan look to maintain their grip on top spot in Serie A. We have compiled our usual Match Preview to give you all of the low-down on our matchday 35 fixture.
LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The energy boost from the win at the Olimpico has allowed Pioli's men to calmly go about their business this week, with the same hunger and desire as always. They were then bolstered by the news of Inter's defeat to Bologna in midweek as the Nerazzurri lost their game in hand. The Club's management showed their support at Milanello this week, timely too as there was more good news in the full recovery of Bennacer. How the midfield will line up depends on whether the Algerian players or not, otherwise there shouldn't be any surprises in terms of team selection. The Rossoneri will need to be careful as there are a few players at risk of suspension, especially in midfield: Tomori, Kalulu, Romagnoli and Díaz.
"It will be a vital game," said Stefano Pioli in his pre-match press conference, "as will all of our remaining matches. The boys have been focused, determined and generous throughout the week, which we need going into tomorrow's game. Fiorentina are a technical, fast and aggressive time - they could cause us problems. They love to wait for the right moment to strike so we will need to control the game and make the right choices while in possession. We're concentrating on doing our job well. It's not time for words, but for actions."
LATEST FROM FIORENTINA
Fiorentina aren't in the best of form right now, following a defeat away at Salernitana and a 4-0 thrashing against Udinese at home, but have had a good season overall. Italiano's side are on 56 points and currently occupy the last European spot, behind Roma, Lazio and Atalanta. We must also consider their good run in the Coppa Italia, which ended at the semi-final stage. In the by-now usual 4-3-3 formation, Terracciano should start, with captain Biraghi and Milenković in defence, in Torreira in midfield. The starting striker should be Cabral, who is higher in the pecking order than Piątek (one of three former Rossoneri alongside Bonaventura and Saponara).
"We're confident going into the run-in," Vincenzo Italian said. "It will be a battle against the league leaders. We have the quality to stay in the European places, where we've been since the start of the season. We're looking good physically; we have a lot of energy to burn. We create a lot of chances and, like AC Milan, anybody can score in our team - we don't only have one goalscorer."
PRE-MATCH
The last meeting between the two sides at San Siro was a year and a half ago, on matchday 9 of last season. The Diavolo won 2-0 with goals from Romagnoli and Kessie in the first half an hour. The reverse fixture this season was a thriller with a bitter ending: goals, excitement and a dazzling Ibrahimović performance (brace) gave way to a 4-3 win for the Viola. In general, this is the 164th meeting between AC Milan and Fiorentina (74 wins for the Rossoneri) and the 82nd at San Siro - the Rossoneri have beaten Fiorentina at home 48 times.
LATEST FROM SERIE A
Paolo Valeri will referee AC Milan v Fiorentina. Assisting him will be linesmen Vivenzi and Ranghetti, and Marinelli as fourth official. Irrati (assisted by Zufferli) is on VAR duty. This will be the experienced referee's 217th match in Serie A. He has taken charge of the Rossoneri on 32 occasions, the most recent being the 4-2 win in Bologna in October, and the Viola 25 times (none this season).
AC Milan v Fiorentina is on Sunday on Serie A matchday 35, which began on Saturday with Cagliari 1-2 Hellas Verona, Napoli 6-1 Sassuolo, Sampdoria 1-0 Genoa and Spezia 3-4 Lazio. Today, we have Juventus v Venezia (12:30), Empoli v Torino (15:00), Udinese v Inter (18:00) and Roma v Bologna (20:45). Finally, on Monday, it's Atalanta v Salernitana (20:45).
Here are the current standings: AC Milan* 74, Inter* 72, Napoli 70 Juventus* 66, Lazio 59, Roma* 58, Fiorentina* 56, Atalanta* 55, Hellas Verona 52, Sassuolo 46, Torino* 44, Udinese* 43, Bologna* 42, Empoli* 37, Sampdoria and Spezia 33, Cagliari 28, Salernitana** e Genoa 25, Venezia** 22. (* one game fewer played)
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