10 FACTS ON FIORENTINA V AC MILAN

In order to approach Fiorentina v AC Milan in the right fashion, the opponent must be studied and a strategy needs to be prepared, also looking at any relevant stats. With this in mind, here are the main facts and figures ahead of the Rossoneri’s trip to the Franchi:

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

1- AC Milan have recorded 74 Serie A victories against Fiorentina; in this regard, they’ve only done better against Roma (77). Furthermore, the Viola are the team the Rossoneri have scored the most goals against in the Italian top flight (253).

2- AC Milan have lost just two of their last eleven Serie A fixtures against Fiorentina, drawing three and winning six of those matches, including the last two.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS AT THE FRANCHI

3- Fiorentina and AC Milan have met 81 times at the Stadio Franchi: the Viola have won 31 of those matches, with the Rossoneri emerging victorious on 26 occasions. 24 draws complete the picture. In general, it will be the 163rd time the teams have faced off in Serie A: in total, there have been 74 Rossoneri victories and 44 Viola wins (44 draws) so far.

STATE OF PLAY

4- AC Milan could become the second team in Serie A history to win 16 away matches in a single calendar year (after Napoli’s 18 victories in 2017). In 2021, the Rossoneri have currently won as many games on the road as Juve did in 2018 (15).

GENERAL STATS

5- This match pits together one of the two teams not to have lost any points from leading positions (AC Milan) and one of the two sides yet to gain a single point after falling behind (Fiorentina). The Rossoneri are the team that have been ahead for the longest number of minutes in the current Serie A campaign (544, at least 40 more than any other side).

6- No other team have scored more goals than AC Milan from outside the box this Serie A season (five, along with Spezia and Verona). However, Fiorentina are yet to concede in this manner during the current campaign.

PLAYER FOCUS

7- Zlatan Ibrahimović has scored nine goals against Fiorentina in the Italian top flight. Should he find the net, the Swede could become the 24th player in Serie A history to reach double figures against four different teams in the competition (he’s already achieved this against Roma, Palermo and Parma), thus joining Fabio Quagliarella as the only other currently active player to do so.

8- Franck Kessie has been involved in three goals in his last two matches against Fiorentina in Serie A (a goal from the penalty spot and two assists).

9- Ante Rebić’s first eight Serie A appearances came for Fiorentina between 2013 and 2015. The Croat scored twice for the Viola in the league, with both goals coming at the Stadio Franchi. Ciprian Tătărușanu is another former Fiorentina player; he played his first 81 matches in Serie A while on the Viola’s books.

COACH FOCUS

10- Stefano Pioli has lost just one of his last eight Serie A matches against Fiorentina as a coach (W6, D1). The current Rossoneri boss took charge of 69 top-flight games when he was the Viola coach (W24, D24, L21). Pioli has drawn just one of his last 15 fixtures against Fiorentina in Italy’s top division (W8, D6): a 1-1 stalemate with AC Milan in February 2020.

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