Serie A fans will be in for a treat as they will have another chance to see an all-Italian clash as Roma and Fiorentina meet up for part two of their round of 16 Europa League match. The first leg concluded as a 1-1 stalemate, with Seydou Keita netting a vital away goal at the Stadio Artemio Franchi to give Rudi Garcia's men a slim advantage heading into this meeting at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, domestically, whilst Vincenzo Montella's squad have flourished, the Giallorossi have imploded. Once breathing down the neck of Juventus, the capital club have thrown that all away as the Bianconeri have cruised to a massive - and seemingly insurmountable 14-point gap - at the top of this season's table. In fact, the Lupi have failed to win any of their last five Serie A games, drawing four and suffering a damaging and confidence-breaking loss to Sampdoria.
This means that they have now drawn eight, lost one, and won just one out of their last 10 games and are in the uncomfortable position of possibly slipping into third - or lower - as Lazio and Napoli sit just one and three points behind respectively. Still, with the Scudetto out of reach barring a catastrophic collapse by Juventus, they are still in contention to at least win another trophy this season, but will first have to find a way past the Viola to earn a spot in the quarter-finals.
Simply put, this will be easier said than done. As noted before, Montella's team have gone from strength-to-strength in which has been a great start to 2015 for them. Although they suffered a crushing loss to Lazio back on March 10th, they were finally able to do what no side has been able to do in nearly two years and defeat Juventus in Turin in order to set themselves up nicely for the second semi-final meeting next month.
And fresh off a win over AC Milan in which they shocked the Rossoneri by coming from 1-0 down to 2-1 up in just seven minutes, they surely will be feeling confident taking on a side that they defeated just last month in the Coppa Italia thanks to a brace from Mario Gomez. In fact, so impressive has been their form, with just one loss out of their last ten games that Montella's side has closed the gap on Roma to just five points.
Unfortunately, Gomez, who is suffering from an ankle problem is unlikely to be able to participate and defender Stefan Savic as well as 'keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu are struggling with thigh and back injuries respectively. Roma will have to make do without midfield enforced Radja Nainggolan, who sits out due to a ban and there are some injury concerns for both Maicon and Victor Ibarbo.
Statistically, the odds do not look good for the Giallorossi. They have not fared well at home in European competition, having just one win out of six home games, with the other five matches ending as three losses and two draws. This is not encouraging news as the Viola have been quite prolific in continental fixtures, netting in all but one out of their last 14 matches.
With this match finely poised, it should be an interesting one for Viola and Lupi supporters, as well as general calcio followers. Given that five Italian teams made it to this stage, at the very least, there will be at least one representative who will be participating in the quarter-finals. But, as to whether it will be Roma or Fiorentina joining another one (or possibly more) Serie A squads will only be known after 90 - or maybe more - minutes of action.
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