Since May 30th's comprehensive 3-1 victory over cellar-dwellars Atalanta, changes have been aplenty at AC Milan. Sampdoria manager Sinisa Mihajlovic has been drafted in to succeed Pippo Inzaghi, while owner Silvio Berlusconi has dug deep into his trouser pockets to invest in a side that has been starved of exuberance in recent seasons. 

Fiorentina, in the meantime, have dismissed Vincenzo Montella to replace him with Paolo Sousa and, latterly, waved farewell to Mohamed Salah, a cult-hero last term, and will welcome Guiseppe Rossi back into action. 

Both sides will be looking to showcase their summer additions while both coaches will be aiming to ensure that life in their new dugouts does not begin on the back foot.

Form

Both sides head into Sunday's encounter boasting contrasting pre-season results.

Milan established early bragging rights over arch-rivals Inter with back-to-back victories over the Nerazzurri, but were quickly humbled by successive defeats to Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur in the Audi Cup. 

Promising, though, were the performances of Carlos Bacca. The Colombian netted against Inter during their TIM Cup clash, adding to Andrea Bertolacci's first-half strike.

Fiorentina, on the other hand, will arrive into Sunday's affair bouyed by victory over both Barcelona and Chelsea. Granted, neither side were at full strength, both mentally and physically, but they bode well for the future of coach Sousa, who still divides opinion in Florence after the departure of Montella in June.

Team news

Fiorentina will welcome back Guiseppe Rossi to the substitutes bench, while Federico Bernardeschi is widely foretold to make his return to the fray after a lenthy spell on the sideline.

Nikola Kalinic, signed from UEFA Europa League finalists Dnipro last week, is an injury doubt ahead of the game.

Milan, meanwhile, will be without last season's top scorer Jeremy Menez through a back problem, while Mihajlovic will also be without M'Baye Niang, who broke a metatarsal in pre-season, Riccardo Montolivo, Ignazio Abate and Philippe Mexes.

Probable line-ups:

Fiorentina (4-3-3): Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori, Alonso; Borja Valero, Mario Suarez, Gonzalo Rodriguez; Bernardeschi, Babacar and Ilcic.

Milan (4-3-1-2): Diego Lopez; De Sciglio, Romagnoli, Rodrigo Ely, Antonelli; De Jong, Bertolacci, Bonaventura; Honda; Luiz Adriano and Bacca.

Previous meetings

Goals via Gonzalo Rodriguez and Joaquin were enough to snatch victory from Sunday's opponents as Milan relinquished a goal-to-nil lead with seven minutes remaing on the clock.

Mihajlovic, though, will take solace in the fact that Milan have tasted defeat only twice in Florence since 2005, though the pendulum may have swung in favour of Fiorentina after they yielded a commendable 1-1 draw at the San Siro during the sides' first encounter last term.

Ones to look out for

Fiorentina - Federico Bernardeschi

The Italian U21 international will begin his first competitive fixture for La Viola since he suffered a fracture in his left foot back in November. A two-goal haul against Barcelona at the Stadio Artemio Franchi will certainly ease him back into domestic proceedings, but the burden may fall on the youngster's shoulders now that Mohamed Salah is plying his trade in the capital. 

Milan - Carlos Bacca

The Colombian forward will be looking to open his account in red and back early and Sunday may be the perfect opportunity to do so. Bacca maintained a remarkable goals-to-minute ratio in Spain, though questions continue to surround his ability to dovetail with fellow arrival Luiz Adriano, who joined from Shaktar Donetsk. Goals should come easy to the South American predator in Italy, and there would no better way to endear himself to the Milan faithful with a decisive contribution on Sunday evening.

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About the author
Craig Vickers
Milk, honey and Andy Murray. Email: craigvickers1998[at]outlook.com