The AC Milan Women will play ACF Fiorentina this Sunday. The match will kick off at 12:30 CET (3:30 am PST / 6:30 am EST).
Here’s an overview of what you need to know about the match…
The background
Milan and Fiorentina will enter the match in starkly contrasting forms. The Rossonere have been in high spirits, as they’ve won sixteen out of nineteen of their matches, as they have only lost two and tied one.
They dropped points in their last match against Roma. However, given how well the Giallorosse have played lately, the draw should be viewed in a positive light. To date, Milan are still the only team in Serie A Femminile that has never lost to Roma.
Fiorentina have not been so fortunate. To date, they’ve only won nine of their matches this season, and have tied two and lost eight. One of those losses was against Roma. They have also lost to Milan.
The first meeting between the two teams this season ended 1-0 in favor of the Rossonere. The last time these two played was in the semifinals of the Super Coppa Femminile. Fiorentina were the 2-1 victors of the match after Milan put on a rather disjointed performance and gave the game away due to bad game management.
They’ll be looking to right those past wrongs and to win this match.
The Viole have also undergone a few changes since the last time these two teams met. Tatiana Bonetti, their temperamental and talented forward, left Fiorentina to play for Atlético Madrid. She followed in the footsteps of former Viola captain Alia Guagni, who had left for the Rojiblancas late last year. Furthermore, talented midfielder Marta Mascarello has been sidelined for the season due to recovering from a torn ACL.
Despite the injuries, Fiorentina still has quite the talented roster. Two of their best players are Martina Zanoli are Alice Tortelli, the two talented and up and coming. They also have Louise Quinn, a veteran defender who has won many trophies with teams like Arsenal.
Katja Schroffenegger will lineup in goal for them. Schroffenegger is one of the best goalkeepers in the league and Italy’s number two.
Then there’s Daniela Sabatino. Milan’s case of the ex will do her best to net a few goals against her former team.
If Milan are to win this match, then they’ll have to neutralize the likes of Sabatino while playing in a more fluid manner. They also have to not make the same mistake twice and let Fiorentina run them riot like they did in the Supercoppa.
Once they do these things, then they’ll emerge as the deserved winners of the match.
The likely formations
Milan will field a 3-5-2 and field their usual lineup. Fiorentina will field a 4-3-3 and play their strongest players as well.
Probable Milan XI: Korenciova; Vitale, Fusetti, Agard; Bergamaschi, Hasegawa, Jane, Boquete, Tucceri; Giacinti, Dowie
Probable Fiorentina XI: Schroffenegger; Thogersen, Quinn, Adami, Breitner, Zanoli; Middag, Monechi, Neto; Baldi, Sabatino.
The importance of the match
In addition to the game being a worthwhile test for the Rossonere, it will also be noteworthy for other reasons. The fact of which is that if Milan wins the match, then they will be one step closer to their dream of playing in next season’s Champions League.
It’s yet another reason to hope that they win this match.
How to watch
You’ll be able to watch the game on Sky, TimVision, Milan TV, the official AC Milan app, and on the team’s Dailymotion page.
