If you feel like Milan just played, you are right. The Lega Serie A, also known as the Marotta League, scheduled Milan's games less than 72 hours apart (but "according to the rules it's possible.") And if one lower table team was not enough for you this week, Sunday evening, we play the team just below Genoa, who we barely managed a draw with on Thursday. That's right, Fiorentina, one of the Seven Sisters of Serie A is actually having a much worse year than Milan had last year. Given the controversy the media whipped up around our last meeting with Pioli's Fiorentina in October, and the way Fiorentina seem to suddenly be rising from the dead, yet Allegri plans to rest our best players, this one could easily be Milan's rock bottom.
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| Things could get better, or they could get much worse... |
Speaking of rocks, after Fiorentina sacked Pioli, new manager Paolo Vanoli got off to a very rocky start. At least Pioli had been winning in Europe. But finally, two months later, he has managed to get them two wins in the league a 5-1 rout of Udinese, followed by something even Allegri could not do: a 1-0 win over Cremonese. Their most recent match was on Wednesday, where they nearly had a third win in a thrilling 2-2 draw away to Lazio. For that match, Vanoli lined up a 4-3-3 with: de Gea; Dodô, Comuzzo, Pongračić, Gosens; Mandragora, Fagioli, Ndour; Parisi, Piccoli, and Guðmondsson.
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| Fiorentina have a talented new player in Brescianini, a player maybe Milan shouldn't have let get away. |
Fiorentina will be missing Lamptey to injury, with Dzeko reportedly unlikely to make fitness after returning from an injury. However, Fiorentina have already made a couple of interesting signings this month. The first, a controversial one, was Manor Solomon, whose Israeli nationality sparked protests in Florence. The second, just this week, is a deal for Milan youth product Marco Brescianini, on loan from Atalanta.
In Allegri's press conference, he spoke of benching Modrić, which never bodes well, and said that Leão will also likely be rested, as he is not fully fit. Great start for a team that played so poorly on Thursday. However, there are indications that Füllkrug could be ready for his first start, Nkunku is reportedly healthy again and available, while Pulisic, whatever condition he is in, will also likely be available to start.
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| Bartesaghi has made everyone forget about Estupiñan's existence this season. |
Rabiot took a knock on Thursday, so it is questionable as to whether or not he starts. So our midfield could actually feature both Jashari and Ricci to start. The only actual injured player is Santi Gimenez, but Tomori is suspended for this one, so will also miss. Even with just two players officially out, our starting 11 looks dreadfully dangerous considering how they have played lately.
Also, the Curva Sud will not be in Florence, as Fiorentina messed up with the paltry 300 away tickets, and they did not put any aside for groups. All of these violations of Serie A regulations and a lack of a price cap for away fans have actually increased since Milan have raised the issue. This, despite the fact that UEFA and every other Top Five league has these regulations in place to protect the most dedicated fans. Serie A just literally always has to do things in the worst possible way.
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| Maybe the away kit will prove lucky again for Ricci... |
So... a poor performance on Thursday, playing away, no fans, one less day's rest, and Allegri rotating the squad like he is swiping past women on Tinder. Oh, and the AIA has assigned the perfect trifecta of the worst referees possible for our match, too: Massa, with Maresca and Chiffi on VAR. That doesn't really sound like something I am excited to watch at 6:00am on a Sunday morning my time. (Did I mention they are playing at 3:00 in the afternoon? Yeah, that, too.) Either Allegri will pull off a master class, or it will be our rock bottom.