In the past few seasons, the epic Serie A match between the top two sides has usually been some combination of Juventus vs. Roma, or even the Bianconeri taking on Napoli. This time around, the Giallorossi are again in the thick of it, but they will be facing a new no. 1 side - Fiorentina.
Despite the departure of highly successful coach Vincenzo Montella, the Viola have been enjoying an even better season under the tutelage of Paulo Sousa. As a result of some top notch performances, namely a 4-1 dismantling of previously-placed top side Inter, the Tuscan side are flying high - albeit they recently suffered some hiccups this past week in both domestic and European play.
Fiorentina
Up until being halted by fellow Scudetto aspirant Napoli, the Viola had been on a five-match unbeaten streak in Serie A. Meanwhile, in the Europa League, they had bounced back from a loss to Sousa's former side Basel to cruise to an easy win over Portuguese Belenenses, but their joy was short-lived as they shockingly were defeated 2-1 by Polish side Lech Poznan. In any case, their once-comfortable lead in Serie A has been reduced just to one point following the loss to Napoli, and they will be heading into this match welcoming a side who would love nothing more than to finish round nine at the top of the league table.
Sousa will pretty much have a full strength squad available with the exception of young Brazilian international Gilberto. Although the versatile Marcos Alonso suffered a knock during the defeat to Napoli and did not make the trip to Poland. Naturally, though, given that the Spaniard can both play as a midfielder and a full-back, he will definitely make a return to the starting XI of deemed fit to participate tomorrow.
In-form striker Nikola Kalinic, who netted a hat-trick in the 4-1 thrashing of the Nerazzurri, will again return to the fold after sitting on the bench during their mid-week Europa League game. In terms of head to head record, the hosts
One player Viola fans will have an eye - albeit not a good one - on will be Mohamed Salah, who left their club under rather acrimonious circumstances this summer. Although the Egyptian international went back to parent club Chelsea before making the switch to Roma, Fiorentina have refused to let the matter go and he could possibly face sanctions should FIFA rule in the club's favor.
Although the Viola powered past the Lupi 4-1 on aggregate in last season's Europa League, they have not beaten the capital side in league action at the Stadio Artemio Franchi since December 4, 2011 in an ill-tempered affair that saw Roma finish the game with just eight men.
Roma
Meanwhile, Roma will also be coming into this game following a disappointing loss in European action. The Giallorossi are yet to win a match in their Champions League group; after an impressive draw with Barcelona, they were embarrassingly defeated by Belarusian outfit BATE and 4-2 up against Bayer Leverkusen, threw it all away to allow the German side to pull level, leaving them with just two points from their first three matches.
However, unlike Fiorentina, they did enjoy success in their recent Serie A match as they stepped up their game in the second half to break down a stauchly-defensive Empoli side. Still, this has not helped relieve the pressure on Rudi Garcia, although a win tomorrow would surely give the French tactician a bit of a break for now.
The former Lille boss will have to make do without skipper Francesco Totti, with the veteran still recovering from a knee injury, but powerful attacker Edin Dzeko should be fit to feature after being rested for the match in Germany. And despite his downturn in form, on-loan Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny should still maintain his starting position, relegating Morgan De Sanctis to the bench.
With Napoli and Lazio - both on 15 points - also in action tomorrow, Roma will surely want to make it four consecutive wins as a loss in Florence, combined with a win for the Partenopei or bitter city rivals Lazio could see them potentially slip out of a European football berth. They will also be keeping the results of the Palermo v. Inter and Milan v. Sassuolo matches in mind as well.
This is the big one this weekend for calcio fans, who could see a new team seize top spot in the table in what has been an entertatining Scudetto race so far! Make sure you do not miss out on this entertaining clash by bookmarking our special Fiorentina vs. Roma match page for all viewing options and times for your current location.
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