AC Milan vs. Fiorentina: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
On the opening day of the season, Fiorentina deflated AC Milan’s balloon. Optimism surrounded the Rossoneri after a summer of spending and the arrival of a new coach in Sinisa Mihajlovic, but a one-sided 2-0 defeat to the Viola brought them swiftly back down to earth. This Sunday night Milan get a chance at revenge.
Mihajlovic’s job seems eternally on the line, but on Wednesday he oversaw the team’s progression to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with a 2-1 victory over Carpi at San Siro. Afterwards he admitted the constant speculation about his future would not faze him.
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"People have been saying the same thing for three months and I expect will continue saying it to the end of the season. I am not interested," Mihajlovic told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia) after the game, continuing, "I always give my all and am not worried about such matters. I’ve been through worse in life."
His team’s performance was far from exhilarating, but the result means Milan can look forward to a semi-final against lower-league opposition in either Spezia or Alessandria. And, safe in the knowledge of a real opportunity of reaching the cup final, they must now turn their full attention to league matters.
Fiorentina’s visit will provide a stiff test of Milan’s mental strength and tactical nous, as scars from that opening-day pummelling may still remain. However, they may be aided by their opposition’s recent downturn in form.
Paulo Sousa’s side, so renowned for their vibrant passing game, have lost three of their last five to see their surprise Scudetto bid scuppered. Recently, Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) also claimed that there exists "rising tension" between Sousa and the Fiorentina hierarchy over transfer policy.
On the back of a reasonable draw away to Roma last weekend, and against the backdrop of a miniature Viola crisis, Milan will seek to capitalise and secure three confidence-boosting points.
Date: Sunday, 17 January
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT (2:45 p.m. ET)
Venue: San Siro, Milan, Italy
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK)
Live Stream: Bet365.com
Form Guide
Milan 2-1 Carpi (Coppa Italia)
Roma 1-1 Milan
Milan 0-1 Bologna
Frosinone 2-4 Milan
Sampdoria 0-2 Milan (Coppa Italia)
Fiorentina 1-3 Lazio
Palermo 1-3 Fiorentina
Fiorentina 2-0 Chievo
Fiorentina 0-1 Carpi (Coppa Italia)
Juventus 3-1 Fiorentina
Team News and Predicted Lineups
Milan received pleasant news prior to the midweek win over Carpi, with Mario Balotelli returning to the squad for the match. The tricky 25-year-old striker hasn’t played since the 1-0 defeat to Genoa last September, meaning he has been out of action for more than three months. His presence has been missed.
Without him, Milan have at times lacked creativity in the final third, particularly since moving to the 4-4-2 system that Mihajlovic is now partial to. It is unlikely that he will be risked against Fiorentina, but he is a handy substitute to bring off the bench if in search of a goal late on.
Balotelli’s return from injury is particularly timely given Luiz Adriano’s supposedly imminent departure. According to Milan Channel (h/t Football Italia), the Brazilian "is at the centre of transfer negotiations" with Chinese club Jiangsu Suning.
Adriano only arrived at Milan during last summer’s spending spree, though he was far from prolific in his half-season spell, finding the back of the net on just three occasions in 18 league appearances, nine of which were starts.
Adriano’s exit would leave Milan short on out-and-out striking options, though there have been suggestions in recent matches that Mihajlovic may be looking to experiment with a 4-2-3-1 system.
Since returning to the club at the start of this month’s transfer window, Kevin-Prince Boateng has made two substitute appearances, on both occasions—against Roma and Carpi—coming on for the second striker each time.
The attacking midfielder’s technical quality and licence to roam has allowed for greater connection between Milan’s midfield and attack, meaning a more stable shape and less vulnerability to counter-attacks. His performances have certainly given Mihajlovic something to think about, especially given the nature of Fiorentina’s attacking threat.
Sousa took over at the Artemio Franchi last summer following Vincenzo Montella’s dismissal, and at the time, many felt the club could only go backwards after three consecutive fourth-place league finishes. However, Sousa has only made them a more tantalising force.
In a 3-4-2-1 formation, Fiorentina create plenty of angles for passing combinations and have proven an extremely difficult side to get the ball off. Consequently it is no surprise that, according to WhoScored.com’s statistics, the Viola have averaged more possession than anyone else in Serie A this season.
Milan would normally be well advised to adopt a more conservative approach against such a team, but they may be emboldened by the fact that the visitors will be without two of their most important players in captain and defensive leader Gonzalo Rodriguez, as well as midfield metronome Milan Badelj, due to suspension and injury, respectively.
AC Milan (4-4-2): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Ignazio Abate, Cristian Zapata, Alessio Romagnoli, Mattia De Sciglio; Keisuke Honda, Juraj Kucka, Andrea Bertolacci, Giacomo Bonaventura; M’Baye Niang, Carlos Bacca
Unavailable: Diego Lopez, Rodrigo Ely, Jeremy Menez (injured)
Fiorentina (3-4-2-1): Ciprian Tatarusanu; Facundo Roncaglia, Nenad Tomovic, Davide Astori; Jakub Blaszczykowski, Matias Vecino, Borja Valero, Marcos Alonso; Josip Ilicic, Federico Bernardeschi; Nikola Kalinic
Unavailable: Gonzalo Rodriguez (suspended), Milan Badelj (injured)
Players to Watch
The January transfer window always throws up some intriguing rumours, and one of the latest ones in Milan concerned the future of Carlos Bacca. The Rossoneri top scorer was linked to Premier League clubs including Chelsea, though his agent Sergio Barila has denied that a move is on the cards.
Speaking to Tutto Mercato (h/t talkSPORT), Barila said: "It is normal that…the big teams in Europe are thinking of Bacca…Many teams have contacted us about Carlos…but do not forget he is at one of the best clubs in the world. And he is not thinking about leaving."
Such words will be a relief to Milan with Bacca the team’s only regular source of goals. His most recent strike came in the midweek win over Carpi in the form of a beautifully audacious rabona:
"Carlos Bacca with an cheeky Rabona last night https://t.co/nNXEDbv4nV
— TheSportsHangout (@Sports_Hangout) January 14, 2016"
If Milan hope to supply Bacca, they will first have to disrupt Fiorentina’s passing game, and that means stifling Borja Valero. The former West Bromwich Albion man is enjoying playing for Sousa as an inside forward, though he could be asked to play deeper this weekend in the absence of Badelj.
The Spaniard has exquisite technique and is also an intelligent user of both space and the ball. He is able to find dangerous areas and open up defences and so will have to be watched closely by the Milan midfield.
Key Battle
While Bacca is set to stay and Balotelli is on the verge of a return, Milan need more goals from their current crop of attackers.
One particular individual who should be looking to up his goals tally is M’Baye Niang. The 21-year-old Frenchman, who often plays as a second striker or a winger, hasn’t scored in his last five Serie A outings.
Niang scored against Carpi on Wednesday evening and should be aiming to continue that form in the league, beginning against Fiorentina, where he will probably find himself one-on-one with Davide Astori.
An elegant ball-playing centre-back, Astori has been in excellent form since joining Fiorentina on loan at the start of the season, though without Gonzalo Rodriguez next to him, he may be tested by Niang’s pace, strength and trickery.
Odds
Milan: +136
Fiorentina: +204
Draw: +226
All odds provided by Odds Shark
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