Serie A 2022-23: Fiorentina vs AC Milan: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The Rossoneri travel to Florence as they face The Lillies on Saturday night.

Serie A's Round 25 brings us a resurgent AC Milan side heading into action at the Artemio Franchi Stadium to encounter hosts Fiorentina for three crucial points for both- up for grabs.

AC Milan had some fresh returns during their last round's encounter against Atalanta. Having failed to win seven consecutive matches in all competitions post the World Cup break, Stefano Pioli's side has finally started to stitch up four successive victories to turn a corner. Sunday's affair was a litmus test for the absentees to see the outfit oust another top-four contender from the Champions League qualification spots. Rossoneri's 2-0 victory at the San Siro saw them stand third in the table with equal points against their arch-rivals Inter Milan.

Fiorentina would be keen on improving as their recent struggles have put them 12th in the Serie A standings. Vincenzo Italiano's side has earned only two league victories since the calendar's turn. Viola's underwhelming results have put their lingering hopes for securing any European spot on hold. Even measuring their 7th of 20 finish from last season now seems challenging. They are 11 points away from safety and 13 points away from 6th.

All is not lost, as Cristiano Biraghi's men would like to define their season on the basis of knockout football in the coming weeks. In almost a week, they will host Sivasspor for the first match from their two-legged tie in the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League. Unlike Milan, Fiorentina will continue to push to make it all the way to the Coppa Italia finals from their semi-final bracket.

Kick-off:

Saturday, 4-03-2023; 07:45 pm (GMT)

Sunday, 5-03-2023; 01:15 am (IST)

Fiorentina form (all competition): W-W-D-W-L

AC Milan form (all competition): W-W-W-W-L

Player to watch

Fiorentina: Lucas Martinez Quarta

Lucas Martinez Quarta has been playing at the heart of Fiorentina's defence. He has been a critical player and often the difference-maker for the side in snatching marginal victories this season. The 26-year-old Argentine was the player of the match against Hellas Verona last week. Unlocking the centre-back pairing of Igor and Quarta will become the visitors' focus.

AC Milan: Mike Maignan

Ciprian Tătărușanu quickly became an eyesore for the Milan ardent as he failed to provide any coverage we expected from a goalkeeper filling in for an in-form one. Maignan's unfortunate injury made him miss 18 games in total. However, he looked his best on his return during Milan's last outing. With assurance in goal, the backline will get bolstered with confidence alongside their newly established five-at-the-back wingback system.

Match facts

• Milan has won the previous two matches against Fiorentina.
• The most common result of matches between ACF Fiorentina and AC Milan when ACF Fiorentina is playing at home is 1-2. Four games have ended with this result.
• AC Milan has kept a clean sheet in 3 matches in a row. Ciprian Tătărușanu was leaking plenty of goals, but now, with Mike Maignan returning between the sticks- they are likely to concede far less.

Injury and team news

Rafael Leão is AC Milan's biggest assister and has scored eight times for AC Milan. But, due to suspension, Pioli won't have his services. The same is the case for losing out Rade Krunić. Davide Calabria is injured till mid-March, while Ismaël Bennacer remains in doubt.

Fiorentina's Vincenzo Italiano has no fitness issues coming into this game, with an injury-free group available for making his selection.

Head-to-Head stats

Matches: 25

Fiorentina: 8

Draws: 6

AC Milan: 11

Predicted lineup

Fiorentina predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Terracciano; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Barak; Gonzalez, Cabral, Kouame

AC Milan predicted lineup (3-4-2-1):

Maignan; Kalulu, Kjaer, Thiaw; Messias, Tonali, Krunic, Hernandez; Diaz, Rebic; Giroud

Prediction

AC Milan is in form, but without Leao's creativity, they will struggle to find goals against a defensively sound host such as Fiorentina. With options on the bench for Pioli, he can change the game even with a momentary impact. It will ultimately be a game of patience and perseverance. 

Prediction: Fiorentina 0-1 AC Milan

Telecast

India- Viacom18, Jio Cinema and Voot

USA - Onefootball

UK - BT Sport 1, BT Sport App, and OneFootball.

Nigeria - SuperSport GOtv Select 1, SuperSport Variety 3