Fiorentina and AS Roma have developed a fairly significant rivalry over the past few years, as they’ve both scrapped for the Champions League spots. That bad blood has been magnified by the Mohamed Salah debacle. In fairness, the Lupi have had the better of the match of late; Fiorentina are only W2 D2 L6 in their last 10 against the Romans, with 3 red cards in those matches.
The referee for this one is Niccolo Rizzoli, with whom Fiorentina have a mixed past. In his last 10 matches with the Viola, they’ve gone W4 D4 L2. He handled the legendary 4-2 against Juventus, as well as 1-4 against Inter Milan, but has also the 1-3 against Lazio last year.
The match will begin at 8:45 PM local (2:45 PM EST) on Sunday 18 September 2016 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Fiorentina
Fresh off an absurdly boring draw with PAOK in the Europa League, Paulo Sousa will try to inject some life into the moribund Viola. Sebastien de Maio may get his maiden Viola minutes, but the Portuguese mister will probably stick with Nenad Tomovic. Since Matias Vecino is still unavailable, expect Carlos Sanchez to drop into the midfield alongside Milan Badelj, although we could finally see Sebastian Cristoforo make his debut as well. Federico Bernardeschi will likely start from the bench, as Sousa has questioned his fitness after his busy summer at the Euros, so Cristian Tello should get the nod on the right. The tridente of Borja Valero, Josip Ilicic, and Nikola Kalinic will almost certainly continue unchanged.
Fiorentina will probably dominate possession in this one, as has been the pattern of late between these sides. With a defensively capable pair of midfielders, the wingbacks should have permission to motor forward relentlessly, which will hopefully pin the Giallorossi deep in their own territory.
Roma
Lucian Spalletti has maintained Rudi Garcia’s work at the club thus far, leading them to wins over Udinese and Sampdoria and a draw at Cagliari. He’s happily kept his predecessor’s structure and ethos, emphasizing direct counters and a hardworking but technically adept midfield. They’ll cede possession and territory, but look to break down the wings with their pacey attackers before centering for Dzeko to finish.
He’ll have to do without defenders Thomas Vermaelen (hamstring), Antonio Rudiger (knee), and Mario Rui (knee), but certainly has the quality to cover for them. Federico Fazio has been in good form this year and should get the nod over Juan Jesus. The only real doubt is whether Diego Perotti will get a start on the wing, pushing either Stephan El Shaarawy or Edin Dzeko to the bench. Don’t be surprised to see old man Francesco Totti get some minutes towards the end of the match, either.
Possible lineups
Fiorentina (3-4-2-1): Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Gonzalo, Astori; Tello, Badelj, Sanchez, Olivera; Ilicic, Valero; Kalinic
Roma (4-3-3): Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Peres; Strootman, de Rossi, Nainggolan; Salah, Dzeko, El Shaarawy.
Prediction
Sunday, starting at 21:45 in Florence will take place match between Fiorentina and AS Roma match for the week fourth in Serie A. It is a game of football tradition for Italy, which is always eagerly awaited with great fans.
It will be an interesting meeting between two teams that play ventilated, so Paolo Sousa, and Luciano Spaletii being followers of modern football. In the same sense, the show should be reminded that the two teams receive galleries devoted supporters, so the «rape», and the white-black, and being aware that they are part of sports shows.
Fiorentina
Florentines with arrears in the championship, three points and they come after the Europa League match, Thessaloniki, where they removed a draw, 0-0. Last round, in the second match of the new season, Fiorentina has experienced the taste of victory – 1-0 at home to Chievo. For us at home, one more reason to watch the match will be the evolution of Tatrusanu, who’s decided to “close” gate in front of Rome.
Rome
Rome, in the form of offensive enviable hanger Juventus, that it lies only two points. “Gialo-red” arriving this game on the road Czech Republic on Thursday they playing against Plzen in the Champions League, 1-1. So, the Romans continued to score every game, which is very likely to happen Sunday night.
Head to Head
Offensive favorite game of the two teams is revealed in the results of the latest matches directly. Thus, last season, AS Roma won both matches – 2-1 in Florence and 4-1 in the “Stadio Olimpico”.
Probable teams
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu – Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori – Salcedo, Badelj, Valero, Ilic Olivera – Tello (Babacar), Kalinic.
Rome: Szczesny – Florenz, Manolas, Jesus Perez – Nainggolan, De Rossi, STROOTMAN – Itturbe, Dzeko, he Shraarawy.
