Dark times seems to be over for Milan as the Rossoneri go into Serie A match day 25 on a three-game winning streak in the league with three consecutive clean sheets.
Stefano Pioli’s side, who sit in second place and on par with Inter, will face Fiorentina away at Artemio Franchi Stadium, days prior their trip to London for Champions League’s last-16 second leg against Tottenham.
The match will take place on Davide Astori’s death fifth anniversary, the beloved former Fiorentina’s captain who died on March 4th 2018 following a heart failure.
The Fiorentina coach at the time was Stefano Pioli and the manager did not hide himself when asked about it during the press conference: “For me it’s always special going to Firenze, this time even more. Davide will always live with me”.
Similar to Milan, Fiorentina too have European nights in front of them as on Thursday they’ll face Turkish side Sivasspor at home in Conference League’s last-16 first leg.
Results from their last five matches in all competitions:
Fiorentina
W W D W L
Milan
W W W W L
Team News
Milan will miss Brahim Diaz as he suffered a sprained knee. This means that Charles De Ketelaere will get his first start since January 29th when the Rossoneri lost 5-2 at home against Sassuolo.
Rafael Leao and Rade Krunic are suspended with Ante Rebic and Ismael Bennacer likely to get their spots in the starting line-up.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic played his first game in eight months last Sunday against Atalanta. He’s ready to start a game, as confirmed by Pioli during the press conference, but it is unlikely it will happen against La Viola.
Nikola Milenkovic is back for Fiorentina. The defender was an unused substitute against Verona last weekend due to muscle issues but it’s likely to get his starting spot back.
As usual, coach Vincenzo Italiano has several doubts when it comes to the attacking line: Nicolas Gonzalez, Arthur Cabral and Riccardo Saponara are the favourites to start the game.
Predicted XIs
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Barak; Gonzalez, Cabral, Saponara.
Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Kalulu, Tomori, Thiaw; Messias, Tonali, Bennacer, Theo; De Ketelaere, Rebic; Giroud.
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Andrea Agostinelli I GIFN
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