WOMEN, FIORENTINA v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

On Sunday 2 March, at 18:00 CET, AC Milan will be playing Fiorentina on Matchday 1 of the Women's Serie A Championship Round. The match will be played at Viola Park, in Florence. Bakker's side are working hard to prepare for their match against de la Fuente's Fiorentina. Now in the final stage of the season, every point is crucial for the Rossonere. Let's focus on Women's Serie A with our Match Preview. 

LATEST FROM THE PUMA HOUSE OF FOOTBALL
AC Milan are going into the match off of a tough home loss against Juventus and a three-week break. Despite that defeat, the Rossonere have been in good form recently, with two comebacks (both 3-2) against Roma and Sassuolo. These wins were key in securing their place in the Championship Round. Bakker's squad are determined to get back to winning ways and to improve their position in the table. The match against Fiorentina is an opportunity for the Rossonere to prove themselves and, ultimately, to climb the table. Absences, as well as Babb, Grimshaw and Zanini, come in the forme of Nadim and Soffia. However, Sorelli has recovered from a knock and is available, fresh from signing a new deal alongside Arrigoni and Renzotti.

"We are happy to be in the Championship Round, but we are not satisfied with that", Coach Bakker said ahead of the game. "We know that the gap with the top three - which entitles us to European football - is big, but as a team we will do everything we can in every match to achieve the best possible result. Starting tomorrow against Fiorentina."

LATEST FROM FIORENTINA
Fiorentina, under coach de la Fuente, have most recently drawn 0-0 with Roma. The Viola have been in fluctuating form, with a 2-3 loss to Juventus in the away leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals (after beating AC Milan in the quarters), and a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo in the league. Despite their difficulties, Fiorentina are determined to climb the table and to take points against AC Milan in order to reignite their 2025, which has been underwhelming so far. The game at the Viola Park will be another big test for their ambitions ahead of a Cup second leg against the Bianconere in midweek. As such, De La Fuente could rotate his usual XI. Martina Toniolo is one yellow away from suspension, while Vero Boquete - formerly of Milan Women - has recovered from an injury she picked up in January.

Emma Færge ahead of the game: "We had two good games against AC Milan, so I've got a great feeling. We've not had the best run recently, but I think there has been improvement. We're hungry for results and we want the three points. On a good day, we can beat anybody. We'll need to give our all, then anything is possible." "The group has worked in full only in the past few days. It's our fifth meeting with AC Milan; they're a good side, and they need special attention," Coach De La Fuente added. "It'll be important to have the right mindset and battle hard mentally. We have to win. We want to play in Europe again, and we need points to do that."

PRE-MATCH STATS

• Fiorentina and AC Milan's last two matches in the Championship Round finished as a draw: 3-3 on 26 March 2023 in Lombardy and 1-1 on 7 May 2023 in Florence. This is the only time in history that the Rossonere and the Viola have drawn two consecutive Serie A games, but their last game ended in a draw on 24 November last year (2-2). 
• Fiorentina haven't won in Serie A since 7 December away at Sampdoria and in their last six league matches, they have scored only once. The Viola have drawn two home matches in a row, and they have never drawn three home matches in a row in the top flight in their history.
• AC Milan's last five matches have seen 26 goals scored (average of 5.2 per game), with all matches having at least four goals scored. 
• Evelyn Ijeh is AC Milan's only player to have contributed to 10 goals in the league this season, and she is the youngest player to reach this tally in this Serie A campaign. She has a total of six goals (one at home to Fiorentina) and four assists (one against Fiorentina at Viola Park). 

WHERE TO WATCH FIORENTINA v AC MILAN ON TV
In Italy, the match will be live on DAZN from 18:00 CET. You can't miss our coverage on the Rossonere Instagram page, on acmilan.com and AC Milan Official App where, from the day after, the entire match recording will be available to watch. 

LATEST FROM WOMEN'S SERIE A
Maksym Frasynyak will referee Fiorentina v AC Milan, with assistants Lauri and Mastrosimone, and fourth official Giordani.

There are two Sunday fixtures for Matchday 1 of Women's Serie A Championship Round. Juventus v Roma will be played, before Fiorentina v AC Milan, at 15:30 CET.

These are the current standings: Juventus 45; Inter 38; Roma 35; Fiorentina 28; AC Milan 25.

Match Kits, clothing, accessories, gift ideas and much more: visit AC Milan online Store!