Roma will be hoping to seize top spot in the table by beating Bologna, but their joy will be likely short-lived as Sunday will see the top two sides - Fiorentina and Inter - taking on Empoli and Frosinone respectively. Both have been in excellent form in what has been a very interesting season and should they continue in this same fashion, fans could be in for one of the most interesting Scudetto races in recent times.
Fiorentina vs. Empoli
First up will be Paulo Sousa's Fiorentina, who have been simply outstanding this season. The highlight by far was their impressive 4-1 demolition of fellow Scudetto aspirant Inter on matchday six, which to date remains the only defeat so far for Roberto Mancini's men. As things stand, they are tied with the Nerazzurri on points, but ahead on goal difference and will be keen on making sure things stay this way as they prepare to take on Empoli tomorrow.
Fans will be in for a Tuscan Derby as the Azzurri visit the Stadio Artemio Franchi. The visitors currently sit in 13th place, which in theory should be comfortably away from relegation. However, with how tight things are near the bottom of the table, they only are three points away from 18th-placed Frosinone. Moreover, they will be coming into this match following a disappointing loss to Juventus in which they were eventually overwhelmed and overpowered by the Bianconeri despite initially enjoying a one-goal advantage.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina will be feeling confident having recorded three straight wins, including a victory on the road against Sampdoria. In terms of head-to-head, it's the hosts with the significant advantage. The only time they have ever lost to their Tuscan opponents in any competition was during the 1997/1998 season, on September 28, 1997.
At home, Fiorentina have been simply unstoppable, with just one loss - to Roma - and have been solid at the back, with four clean sheets in their six home matches. Interestingly, Empoli, despite their lower half standing, have done decently on the road, with exactly half of their 14 points taking place away from home and they have managed to score in each and every single one of their away matches so far.
In terms of personnel, Sousa will have to make do without Polish international Jakub Blaszczykowski whilst Marco Giampaolo will have a full strength squad at his disposal.
Inter vs. Frosinone
Meanwhile, Inter, who are tied with Fiorentina on points, but behind on goal advantage will also be coming into their game hoping to extend their three-match win strea. However, despite the Nerazzurri enjoying a good start to the season, Roberto Mancini's side have not been immune to criticism due to having scored just 12 goals so far this campaign, or an average of one a game. In fact, their 1-0 win over Torino was their seventh such win and there are some concerns that as the season continues, their lack of firepower could come back to haunt them when top spots could be decided between who has the better goal differential.
To further illustrate this, even surprise packages Sassuolo, who sit in 5th at the time of this writing, have scored 14. Fiorentina have double that - with 24 - whilst Roma and Napoli have netted 27 and 22 times respectively.
With the exception of Geoffrey Kondogbia who have some fitness concerns and may not be able to feature, Mancini has pretty much most of his first-choice players available for this contest. Given that Frosinone is featuring in Serie A for the first time in their history, this will naturally be the first ever meeting between the two sides, but with the visitors' poor form, the hosts are expected to easily earn all three points in tomorrow's match.
It has been a tough debut campaign in the top flight for Roberto Stellone's side, who have struggled both at home and away, but especially more so on the road, where they have lost five out of their six away matches. In fact, they have yet to win a single away match their highlight of their season was certainly managing to draw reigning champions Juventus in Turin back in September. Interestingly, though, they have scored 11 goals - just one less than their upcoming opponents, but they will surely find things difficult at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, especially considering they could be without some key players, including Leonardo Blanchard and Samuele Longo.
With the Viola and the Nerazzurri tied on points, the results of Sunday's fixtures could finally someone sitting alone at the summit of the Serie A table. Will it be Roma, Fiorentina, or Inter? Serie A fans will know at the end of what will be a very interesting weekend of action.
And to make sure you don't miss out, bookmark our Fiorentina vs. Empoli and Inter vs. Frosinone match pages for broadcast times and options for your specific location.
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