AC Milan vs Fiorentina

Stadio San Siro hosts a high-stakes Serie A game as injury-hit AC Milan and Fiorentina go head-to-head.

Stefano Pioli might have been amongst the happiest managers in Europe to hear the November international break ringing after his out-of-form Milan side alternated between drawing (2) and losing (2) across their last four Serie A outings. Dropping a 2-0 halftime lead in a gut-wrenching 2-2 draw at Lecce in the previous round saw ‘I Rossoneri’ lose grip on the top of the table, tumbling eight points below pacesetters Inter Milan. Though the San Siro should provide a safe shelter, back-to-back 1-0 home league losses to Juventus and Udinese put Milan at risk of suffering three consecutive home defeats in Serie A for the first time since 2006. And if they do so without scoring, it would be only the second time in their top-flight history that they’ve lost three home matches ‘to nil’ on the trot.

On the other hand, Fiorentina bounced back from a dreadful three-game losing league run just before the break, as goals on either side of halftime helped them end Bologna’s 10-match unbeaten streak (2-1). That wasn’t a small feat, yet winning two consecutive Serie A games for the third time this season isn’t beyond debate. Vincenzo Italiano’s men have lost their last three top-flight visits to Milan by a combined score of 6-1. Their narrowly positive away league record in 2023/24 (W3, D1, L2) suggests this could be a perfect moment to exact revenge. But it’s worth noting that both of their Serie A defeats on the road have come against last season’s top-four finishers, with ‘La Viola’ drawing a blank on each occasion.