AC Milan take on Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday afternoon, hoping to return to winning ways.
Thursday night’s 1-1 draw against Genoa not only deepened fears about chronic struggles against teams battling relegation, but also saw Inter open up a three-point gap at the top of the table. The pressure to win is therefore high, especially with Roma and Juventus close behind.
In terms of selection news, it is expected that Massimiliano Allegri will rotate the team by virtue of the fact that this is a second game within 70 hours. The likes of Ardon Jashari, Pervis Estupinan and Niclas Füllkrug are all tipped to start, with workload management taking precedence.
Fiorentina vs. AC Milan: Predicted starting XIs
Looking into the key battles across the park, the key to winning this game undoubtedly comes from Milan’s front two, which is expected to be Christian Pulisic and Niclas Füllkrug. The American is the top scorer with eight league goals, and he had one ruled out for handball against Genoa, while the German will get his first start.
With Rafael Leao waiting in the wings, the focus will be on getting quality service into Pulisic and Füllkrug, who should occupy the more tradition second striker and No.9 positions. Pietro Comuzzo and Martin Pongracic should be their opponents, the preferred centre-back duo for La Viola at the moment.
The Italian has had an impressive rise and was linked with a big summer move, with Milan among the teams mentioned. The Croatian meanwhile has been a bedrock of Fiorentina’s defence for some time now, and is an experienced campaigner who should take on the physical battle with Füllkrug.
Moving towards the other end, there will be an all-Italian duel between Moise Kean and Matteo Gabbia. Kean has been mentioned as a target for the Rossoneri in recent months, and he is someone that Allegri knows all about. He scored 19 league goals last season and while he only has five this term so far, he has hurt Milan before and will look to do so again.
Gabbia meanwhile will feel a desire to atone for his performance in midweek against Genoa. It wasn’t the ‘disasterclass’ that some centre-backs have had at Milan in the past couple of seasons, but he did lose Lorenzo Colombo for the goal that the away side scored, and in truth didn’t look 100% after returning to the side following a knee issue.
On the right side, there will be a fascinating contest between Albert Gudmundsson and Koni De Winter. The pair know each other well from their time together at Genoa, with the former expected to play on the wing but likely to cut inside and try create danger from more central areas.
De Winter meanwhile had a shaky beginnings to life at Milan before turning in consecutive impressive starts. With Fikayo Tomori suspended he gets the nod again, hoping to nullify a player who has a certain connection to the Diavolo, as well as four goals to his name in the league so far.
There are other duels to mention, such as the one between Mandragora and Rabiot in midfield (if the Frenchman is fit) plus the battle of the registi Fagioli and Jashari. However, we must end with the one on Milan’s left side between Dodo and Pervis Estupinan.
The Ecuador international is expected to get the nod, giving Bartesaghi a rest, and it will be a big chance for him to prove why he was signed to be a starter. Dodo has not been at his best so far in a difficult campaign for Fiorentina, but the threat he poses going forward – and the overlaps of Solomon – should give Estupinan a real examination.
