New Fiorentina boss Delio Rossi faces an uphill task on his debut, with his side set to host high-flying Milan. The Serie A champions have hit the ground running following somewhat indifferent start and the hosts can only rue the fact that they are facing the Rossoneri at this stage of the season.

Will anything change?

Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked last week, following a very disappointing start to the season, but I think we can all agree that he is not solely responsible for the under-par performances. The Serbian coach did have enough time to make this squad his own, but, in all fairness, nobody could have done much better with what he had at his disposal. Young forwards Stevan Jovetic and Alessio Cerci have done really well, but they lacked the support of Alberto Gilardino, who only started four league games due to various injuries, with his replacement Santiago Silva utterly disappointing in every single game. Key midfielders Ricardo Montolivo and Juan Vargas have already set their minds on leaving the club, so it is more than clear that they are not giving their best in the Viola shirt. The back line is probably the only area of the side that is working properly, but with Fiorentina scoring just 10 goals in as many games, not even the good defensive performances can be of big help. New boss Delio Rossi is expected to bring some improvement to the side, but he is no miracle worker and I seriously doubt this Fiorentina can stop high-flying Milan.

Team’s top scorer Stevan Jovetic is a major doubt with a muscle injury, whereas important defenders Natali, Kroldrup and Cassani are unavailable.

Milan back to their best

After winning the Serie A title in his first season at San Siro, talented coach Massimiliano Allegri faced unbelievable selection problems at the start of the new season. Numerous injuries to star players, along with the busy schedule prevented the Rossoneri from gaining momentum, but the team have since managed to overcome all the problems and are now running at full steam. Besides securing their place in the Champions League knockout rounds, Maxi Allegri’s side have climbed to 3rd place in Serie A standings thanks to five consecutive victories and now have a great chance to climb to the top, with both Udinese and Lazio in for difficult away games. Confidence is high at San Siro following the impressive run of results, whereas the injury situation is also improving, so Milan have got to be considered favourites in this clash. The visitors still have some important missings, but big strength in depth is proving to be a key feature for the Rossoneri this season.

Kevin-Prince Boateng is serving the final match of his three-game ban, whereas Antonio Cassano, Gennaro Gattuso and Mathieu Flamini remain long-term casualties. Alexandre Pato, however, is finally back in contention.

Verdict

Fiorentina clearly lack the quality and drive to mount a serious challenge for European places and they will find it hard to match in-form Milan. The Rossoneri are firing on all cylinders at the moment and sixth league win in a row looks on the cards. The odds offered on away win are just too good to pass.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 2.20 (6/5)

Bookmaker: William Hill