Week 19: Fiorentina – Milan

Follow the match as it happens, on the forum.

The last game of the first half of the 2017-2018 Serie A season comes with Milan sitting 11th in the table, few imagined this to be the case after the massive spending in the summer. Failures, mistakes and lack of belief have led to one coach being sacked and the second struggling just as much. Week 18 featured Milan losing at home 0-2 to an Atalanta side punching above their weight for the second consecutive season. The crisis around individual players, the tactical choices and ownership all continue to swirl. Midweek’s better showing vs Inter in the Coppa Italia has given everybody a slight reprieve. The Coppa game had the team showing more resilience and displaying a more compact shape. Even that better showing against an Inter side in a mini losing streak of their own needed an extra time goal – scored by Cutrone after Kalinic limped off injured and was replaced. The teenager took his chance, unlike the Croatian.

The line up will need to be different as the aforementioned Kalinic and Abate are nursing minor injuries and are not available for this match. Antonio Donnarumma who deputized for his teenage brother and Storari on a last minute basis will cede back the goalkeeping duties to Gigio. Calabria is likely to take up Abate’s spot along side Romagnoli, Bonucci and Rodriguez. Montolivo, Kessie and Bonaventura will form the middle three in an unnecessary change from the Coppa match. Biglia did well enough vs Inter. Up front Cutrone will start alongside Borini and Suso in another unnecessary change as Bonaventura playing further up seems a better choice than Borini in the left wing spot.

Fiorentina come into this game having earnt only two points more than Milan so far this season. Led by Cyril Thereau, Giovanni Simeone and Federico Chiesa the Tuscan team have however not lost in seven Serie A games but were knocked out of the Coppa – by Lazio – in midweek.