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AC Milan welcome Fiorentina to San Siro on Sunday night with a big opportunity on the table: win and go top of the Serie A table.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side have the chance to reclaim the summit in the standings after both Napoli and Roma lost 1-0 (to Torino and Inter respectively) on Saturday evening. However, they have been hit with a wave of injuries, and six players are expected to miss out.
For Stefano Pioli’s side, the task is very different. The Fiorentina coach returns to the stadium he called home for so many years seeking a first league win of the season, with reports that his position is under pressure given they are currently in the bottom three.
AC Milan vs. Fiorentina: The five key battles
Given the forced changes due to injury issues, there will be two huge duels out on the flanks between Davide Bartesaghi and Dodo on the left side, then Zachary Athekame and Robin Gosens on the right side.
In both cases the juxtaposition is obvious. Bartesaghi is just 19 years of age and has just one league start to his name this season, though it did come in a 0-0 draw with Juventus before the break, while Dodo has established quality in Serie A and is a real attacking threat.
On the opposite flank, Athekame is even more inexperienced having not started a Serie A fixture yet, and Gosens is someone that shone for years with Atalanta. Just like his Brazilian team-mate, the German will be called upon to provide dangerous service when pushing forward.
It will be a great test for Milan’s young duo, who have so far shown some positive signs (especially Bartesaghi’s performance in the Coppa Italia against Lecce) but have also appeared quite shaky when asked to defend 1v1. Some help from covering midfielders might be needed.
One of the players that came back from international duty unscathed is the leader of the midfield: Luka Modric. He played 110 minutes for Croatian in their two fixtures, and Allegri will ask him to take the team by the hand through a storm again, something he has certainly done in various games already in 2025-26.
On the opposite side, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia is a rather interesting name to follow. He will be the ‘bite’ in the Viola midfield engine, and he dons the same number (14) as Modric. The Italian is regarded as a big talent for the future and he was actually linked with a move to Milan in the summer, and he likes to get forward to contribute to attacks.
After shaking off a slight issue sustained during the break, Moise Kean is expected to lead the line for Fiorentina against the Rossoneri tonight. After bagging 19 times in the league last season he has scored just once in six games thus far in the current campaign, but he remains the focal point for La Viola.
His opponent will be his compatriot Matteo Gabbia, recently recalled to the Italy fold under Gennaro Gattuso. It was deserved too after an excellent string of performances under Allegri, though this might just be his toughest examination so far and some help could be needed from his two centre-back partners.
Finally, we come to the battle that it feels like Milan must win if they are to seize top spot: Rafael Leao versus Pablo Mari. Leao has been at the centre of the headlines over the break because of his unfortunate cameo against Juventus, in which he missed a couple of big chances off the bench to keep the winning run going.
There are various mitigating circumstances, but having returned to Milanello early over the break and with both Pulisic and Nkunku out, the pressure is on Rafa to lead the attack and keep up his positive run against Fiorentina (four goals in seven previous meetings). Marí, meanwhile, is now a seasoned Serie A veteran at 32.
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