Milan have a wealth of attackers, Fiorentina have no real
forwards who are healthy and available. Fiorentina played in the Europa League
on Thursday, Milan are not in Europe this season at all. Milan are a surprising
fourth in the table, Fiorentina sit in a disappointing ninth. But one thing
both clubs have in common is that Matri is not on either of their rosters this
year, after cursing both clubs with his presence last year.
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| He who will not be missed |
Tonight’s match sees a rivalry whose flames were fanned by events in the last
couple of seasons, seasons that were disappointing for both teams. Milan has
the edge so far this season in that their fortunes have turned upward, whereas
with some terrible injuries and some other bad luck, Fiorentina’s fortunes have
been largely poor so far this season.
Milan also have the edge in that all of their injured and suspended players (barring ex-Fiorentina captain Montolivo) are fit and available, whereas Fiorentina are still missing Mario
Gomez, Giuseppe Rossi, and now David Pizarro for this match. Milan are playing
at home, whereas Fiorentina traveled to Greece and played on Thursday and now
have to make the trip to the San Siro as well.
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| Two former national teammates, now both ready to make their mark as young coaches |
But it will still be a battle. Marko Marin, on loan to
Fiorentina from Chelsea is likely to make his Serie A debut for the Viola after
playing a few minutes in their 1-0 Europa League win on Thursday. They also
have players like Cuadrado, Babacar, Valero, and Vargas who tend to surprise or
disappoint, rarely all at the same time. Most importantly, I hope that referee Luca Banti will call a fair match with no controversy so we can try to put that ridiculousness behind us.
But whatever the outcome of the match is, both teams will be
winners. Because neither team will have Alessandro Matri on the pitch or even
taking up a spot on the bench. And when that happens, everyone wins.
This post inspired by the music of
Prince’s Purple Rain album
Milan vs. Fiorentina
Sunday, October 26 • 20:45 CET (3:45pm EDT)*
*note the
end of European daylight savings time changes the time difference
This match will be shown on RAI and BeIn Sport in the U.S.
Check the comments section here for stream links ahead of the match