AC Milan really need to bounce back with a win against Fiorentina this evening, having gone four games without a win in the league. In addition to their poor form, there are also a few heavy absences to take into consideration.
As has been a theme all season, Milan have several players on the injury list but this is an unprecedented crisis. Olivier Giroud will miss the game through suspension, while Rafael Leao is recovering from an injury. Two heavy absences, as confirmed by the stats.
The centre-back option on the bench will be the 18-year-old Jan-Carlo Simic, while the striker option will be the 15-year-old Francesco Camarda. That says a lot about the situation. You can read our pre-match preview here, while below are the best stats ahead of the game…
The stats
➤ Milan have won 76 Serie A matches against Fiorentina (D44 L46); the only team to have beaten the Viola more times than Rossoneri in the top-flight is Juventus (81), while the only opponent defeated more times by the Rossoneri in the competition is Roma (79).
➤ Fiorentina have lost each of their last three Serie A away matches against AC Milan; only against three teams have the Viola endured a longer ongoing streak of away defeats: Pro Vercelli, Roma and Venezia.
➤ Milan have lost nine Serie A matches in 2023 – already triple the number of defeats suffered by the Rossoneri in 2022 and, if they lose against Fiorentina, they would reach double figures in defeats in a single calendar year in Serie A for the 23rd time in their history (the most recent time was in 2021, with 10 defeats).
➤ Milan have lost two of their last four Serie A games (D2), as many defeats as those they suffered in the previous 19 matches (W13 D4) in the competition; furthermore, the Rossoneri have failed to score in two of their last four matches in the top-flight, as many times as in their previous 25.
➤ Milan have lost each of their last two home games in Serie A, last losing three such matches in a row back in 2006; while the Rossoneri have suffered three consecutive home defeats without scoring only once in the top-flight, in 1930.
➤ Fiorentina have lost three of their last four Serie A matches without scoring, winning the most recent one (2-1 v Bologna): it is the same number of defeats suffered by the Viola in the previous 24 top-flight matches, and the same number of goalless matches they registered in the previous 27.
➤ Fiorentina have scored six headed goals in Serie A this season – a joint-high with Roma – while Milan are one of only two sides, along with Inter, yet to concede this kind of goal so far.
➤ In 2023, Fiorentina have scored 97 goals across all competitions: more than any other Serie A team and fewer only than Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen among teams in the big five European Leagues – the Viola only did better in 2015 in a single calendar year (101 goals).
➤ In the last three Serie A seasons, Milan have played 20 matches without Olivier Giroud or Rafael Leão: in these matches the Rossoneri’s winning percentage was 45%, compared to 65% with at least one of the two on the pitch; in general, in the period only twice AC Milan played in Serie A without both players: 1st December 2021 (3-0 win against Genoa) and 11th December 2021 (1-1 draw against Udinese).
“Milan have lost nine Serie A matches in 2023 –“ I can only count 3 losses.
in the entire year of 2023
Gotta watch out for those headers
We should put players with good heading abilities, unfortunately fans don’t like the guys who has good aerial abilities 😂😂😂