With a three-point lead in Serie A, and with just seven league games remaining (beginning with this one), AC Milan are at the ‘business end’ of what they hope will be their first title-winning season in six years.
As was the case when they faced Napoli a few weeks back, Milan raised their game last week for their clash with city rivals Inter. An Alexandre Pato goal on 44 seconds signalled their intent, and the sending-off of Inter defender Cristian Chivu after 54 minutes ended the game as a contest. Milan have performed well against their fellow title challengers, but they failed to beat lowly Bari and Palermo in the two games preceding the derby. So how will they fare at Fiorentina?
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| Gilardino will be hoping to have cause for celebration on Sunday |
The Viola have only lost one of their last ten games, this defeat coming at the hands of Milan’s rivals Inter. Fiorentina occupy ninth place in the table, but with eight points separating them from the Europa League places they are unlikely to be playing European football next season. Adrian Mutu has been playing well since his return, but he will miss this game due to suspension. Luckily for Fiorentina, striker Alberto Gilardino is in fine form of late. They have scored eight times in their last four games, and are unbeaten in their last six.
Milan’s top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimović makes his return from a two-game suspension for this game while his team-mate Antonio Cassano will serve a suspension. Milan don’t have a fantastic record at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, but with the Scudetto within touching distance they should have enough to claim all three points on Sunday evening.
Prediction – AC Milan to win – 3pts
Match odds: Fiorentina 3/1
Draw 9/4
AC Milan 10/11
Fiorentina: Last 5 Serie A Results
03.04.2011 – Cesena 2-2 Fiorentina
20.03.2011 – Fiorentina 2-2 Roma
13.03.2011 – Chievo 0-1 Fiorentina
06.03.2011 – Fiorentina 3-0 Catania
27.02.2011 – Bari 1-1 Fiorentina
AC Milan: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.04.2011 – AC Milan 3-0 Inter
19.03.2011 – Palermo 1-0 AC Milan
13.03.2011 – AC Milan 0-0 Bari
05.03.2011 – Juventus 0-1 AC Milan
28.02.2011 – AC Milan 3-0 Napoli
