Fiorentina vs AC Milan preview

December 28, 2017
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

With just two points separating the top 4 hopefuls in the standings at the moment, stake will be high when Fiorentina and AC Milan square off at Artemio Franchi.

And while Viola crashed out of the Coppa Italia to end a promising run of results, the Rossoneri enjoyed a derby win over Inter Milan to reach the last four of said competition in midweek.

New Fiorentina boss Stefano Pioli had a lot of squad rebuilding to do after the likes of Borja Valero, Matias Vecino, Federico Bernardeschi and Josip Ilicic were allowed to leave in the summer.

The club signed quite a few new footballers in an attempt to compensate for the departures, and Viola have so far fared pretty well in the league.

Midway through the league campaign, Fiorentina occupy eighth position in the overall standings and they are just one point behind Europa League positions.

The team have done really well of late, embarking on a seven-match unbeaten run that ultimately came to an end in midweek.

However, with the under-strength side having produced a very good performance in the 1-0 defeat to Lazio, Fiorentina have reason for optimism ahead of the clash with AC Milan.

Star players Giovanni Simeone and Milan Badelj will be recalled, but German Pezzella is rated doubtful as he struggles through injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Sportiello – Laurini, Pezzella, Astori, Biraghi – Veretout, Badelj, Benassi – Chiesa, Simeone, Thereau.

This season is proving to be quite difficult for AC Milan in spite of the heavy investment in the playing squad last summer.

The Rossoneri find themselves in the bottom half of the standings after 18 rounds of fixtures and they will struggle to realise the pre-season goal of securing a Champions League spot.

Following back to back defeats to Hellas Verona and Atalanta that placed extra pressure on new boss Gennaro Gatusso, AC Milan finally managed to record a morale-boosting win as they defeated local rivals Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

It was youngster Patrick Cutrone who scored yet another important goal for his boyhood club, helping ease the pressure on the players ahead of the final game of the year.

AC Milan can now be backed at 3.60 (13/5) to win at Artemio Franchi, but it has to be noted that the Rossoneri recorded one draw and three defeats in last four away matches.

Andrea Conti and Jose Mauri remain sidelined, whereas Riccardo Montolivo could be preferred to Lucas Biglia in the middle of the park.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Donnarumma – Calabria, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez – Kessie, Montolivo, Bonaventura – Borini, Kalinic, Suso.

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