AC Milan - Fiorentina Preview: Allegri's men aim to bounce back with win against struggling Viola

The Rossoneri were disappointingly knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in midweek, but will resume domestic affairs on Saturday when Delio Rossi's side come to town

AC Milan

0 vs 0

Fiorentina

Pre Match
April 7, 2012 2:00 PM BST
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza — Milano
Referee:‬ D. Celi‎

PROBABLE LINEUPS

AC MILAN Abbiati Abate, Bonera, Mexes, Antonini Aquilani, Muntari, Nocerino Emanuelson Ibrahimovic, Robinho

FIORENTINA Boruc Cassani, Natali, Nastasic, Pasqual Marchionni, Behrami, Olivera, Vargas Lazzari Jovetic

Massimiliano Allegri will again have to make do without the services of Mark van Bommel, Thiago Silva, Filippo Inzaghi, Rodney Strasser, Flavio Roma and Mathieu Flamini, while Alexandre Pato is out for the rest of the season due to a troublesome muscle injury.

However, that should not deter the 44-year-old from making changes to his team, as three are expected to be made from the side that was defeated 3-1 by Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Alberto Aquilani, Sulley Muntari and Urby Emanuelson look set to replace Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini and Kevin-Prince Boateng for the visit of Fiorentina.

Viola, meanwhile, have seen themselves tumble down the table at an alarming pace, following a wretched run of form of late. Nonetheless, widespread alterations are not expected from under-fire coach Delio Rossi.

Amauri requires a late fitness test, while Riccardo Montolivo is suspended, so Andrea Lazzari and Ruben Olivera will come into the fold as their replacements. Alessandro Gamberini is also sidelined with injury, so Cesare Natali is set to start against the Rossoneri.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The draw in the reverse fixture ended a run of seven straight wins for AC Milan against Fiorentina.

• The Rossoneri boast Serie A's best attack with 60 goals - 22 of these have been netted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

• AC Milan have won nine of the 10 games in which they have been leading at home.

• Their only defeat at San Siro in the league this season was in the derby against Inter.

• Over the past decade, Fiorentina have managed to beat AC Milan in the league just once - a 3-1 win at the Artemio Franchi in November 2005.

• The Viola's last victory at San Siro was back in 2001, with Enrico Chiesa scoring a double in a 2-1 win.

• Fiorentina would be 18th in the Serie A standings if only the last 10 games were taken into consideration.

• They have won just one match away from home this season, against Novara.

Last Five Matches

AC Milan
Apr 3, 2012	FC Barcelona 3 - AC Milan 1	UCL
Mar 31, 2012	Catania 1 - AC Milan 1	ITA1
Mar 28, 2012	AC Milan 0 - FC Barcelona 0	UCL
Mar 24, 2012	AC Milan 2 - Roma 1	ITA1
Mar 20, 2012	Juventus 2 - AC Milan 2	ITAC

Fiorentina
Apr 1, 2012	Fiorentina 1 - Chievo 2	ITA1
Mar 25, 2012	Genoa 2 - Fiorentina 2	ITA1
Mar 17, 2012	Fiorentina 0 - Juventus 5	ITA1
Mar 11, 2012	Catania 1 - Fiorentina 0	ITA1
Mar 7, 2012	Parma 2 - Fiorentina 2	ITA1

Players to Watch

Zlatan Ibrahimovic
POSITION:	Striker
SQUAD NUMBER:	11

GAMES	GOALS	YC	RC
24	22	3	1

The Sweden international just can’t seem to stop scoring in Serie A and after another below-par showing against Barcelona during midweek, he will be eager to resume finding the back of the net in order to silence his critics. Needless to say, Ibra is of paramount importance to the Milan cause and is their reference point in everything they create on the pitch.

Stevan Jovetic
POSITION:	Striker
SQUAD NUMBER:	8

GAMES	GOALS	YC	RC
23	12	2	0

The Montenegro international has been one of the only bright spots in a wretched season for the Tuscans and is currently leading the goalscoring charts for his side, having netted 12 times in the league so far this term. However, he has now gone five games without a goal, so he will be desperate to put an end to his barren spell at the San Siro shopping window.