Serie A | Gameweek 31

Apr 5, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

AC Milan vs Fiorentina

Match preview

Milan took a break from their dismal top-flight fortunes to play out a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday.

The Rossoneri extended their unbeaten run against their city rivals to four games, but were denied victory as Tammy Abraham's opener was cancelled out by a powerful equaliser from former Milan man Hakan Calhanoglu.

Under-fire coach Sergio Conceicao had to thank his captain for keeping the tie level ahead of the return leg later this month, as 'Magic' Mike Maignan pulled off a series of vital saves at San Siro.

Before facing Inter for the fifth and final Derby della Madonnina of the season, Milan will be looking to salvage something from their ailing Serie A campaign, which has seen them drop to ninth in the standings, nine points adrift of the all-important top four.

As a result, they face a battle against the likes of Juventus, Lazio, Bologna, Roma and this week's opponents to secure a precious place in Europe.

Sunday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of title chasers Napoli saw the Rossoneri suffer four defeats in six league games under a single manager for the first time since 2019, during Marco Giampaolo's short-lived reign.

Like the current Lecce boss, Conceicao's stay in Italy's second city is likely to be short-lived as the board, led by special advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic, look to appoint a new coach in the summer.

Milan may have won their last four home games against Fiorentina, but even a form-defying victory this week would leave them just one point behind the visitors with just seven rounds to play, with a return to the Champions League looking like a distant dream.

Fiorentina, who won the reverse fixture 2-1 in October, can now complete the double over Milan for the first time in 24 years as they look to keep the pressure on the two Rome clubs just above them in the standings.

Either side of the international break, the Viola have overturned one of their direct rivals for a top-four finish and bounced back from a poor run of results that threatened to derail their domestic campaign.

They first swept aside old rivals Juventus and then beat Atalanta BC two weeks later, with star striker Moise Kean scoring the only goal against La Dea, stealing the ball on the halfway line before cutting inside and firing home.

Fiorentina have already amassed 51 points and another success at the San Siro would take them to their best tally at this stage of the season since 2016, when they finished fifth.

Having already secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Conference League, Raffaele Palladino's men have their work cut out as they look to go one step further in UEFA's third-tier competition and finally return home with the trophy.

The Tuscans will face Slovenia's NK Celje in the first leg of their last-eight tie next week, but first they must try to slay Milan for the second time this season.

Recent Performance

AC Milan Serie A form:LLLWWL

AC Milan form (all competitions):LLWWLD

Fiorentina Serie A form:LLWLWW

Fiorentina form (all competitions):WLLWWW

Team News

Yet to settle on a preferred attacking formula, Sergio Conceicao will once again have to choose between Santiago Gimenez and Tammy Abraham to lead Milan's front line on Saturday night, with the English striker a slight favourite to start after his goal against Inter.

Rafael Leao and Alex Jimenez were selected on either flank in midweek, but the latter is now serving a suspension, opening up an opportunity for the likes of Riccardo Sottil and Samuel Chukwueze - alternatively Christian Pulisic could move to the right.

While Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson Royal remain sidelined, USA midfielder Yunus Musah is expected to recover from the illness that ruled him out of Wednesday's derby and compete for a place in the middle of the park.

Fiorentina wing-back Robin Gosens, who was ruled out of the clash with former club Atalanta due to a minor knee injury, is hopeful of making a return to the San Siro, where he once represented Inter.

The Viola will once again be without Andrea Colpani, but Raffaele Palladino should have a full-strength side to choose from.

Up front, Moise Kean is set to make his 200th appearance in one of Europe's top five leagues and the Italian striker will be looking for his 20th Serie A goal of the season, having scored 16 times and provided three assists so far.

Possible starting lineup

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Walker, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Abraham

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Fagioli, Cataldi, Mandragora, Gosens; Gudmundsson, Kean