Artemio Franchi is the venue as Fiorentina and Roma go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking Serie A clash to round Matchday 36 off. Time is ticking for the hosts to fulfil their seasonal goal, while the visitors cannot afford a slip-up to maintain their objectives on the right trajectory.
Fiorentina could not have picked a worse possible moment to suffer three league defeats in a row for the first time since December 2019. With matches running out, La Viola have lost ground on seventh-placed Atalanta.
Another failed attempt to seal all three points could prove detrimental to their bid to qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League. It’s been five years since Fiorentina played in a major European competition, and motivation should not be lacking in Vincenzo Italiano’s camp.
On the other hand, Roma head into proceedings with their confidence sky-rocket after qualifying for their first-ever major European final. Tammy Abraham scored a tie-defining goal to crash Leicester City out of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie.
After overcoming the Premier League powerhouse, Roma will encounter high-flying Dutch heavyweights Feyenoord in the Albanian showpiece later this month. But for now, the Giallorossi are looking to solidify their position in a close-contested Europa League qualifying race.
Match Preview
Fiorentina
An unfortunate 1-0 defeat at table-topping Milan last time out has seen Fiorentina slip three points adrift of seventh-placed Atalanta. Keen to get back to winning ways, Italiano’s men are hoping to put an abysmal 4-0 loss to Udinese in their most recent home league fixture behind.
Before Udinese’s thumping triumph, Fiorentina had won three consecutive Serie A matches at Franchi by an identical 1-0 scoreline. However, Roma’s visit to Florence does not bode well for the hosts’ bid to bounce back from a rotten patch.
Fiorentina have lost their last five top-flight meetings with the Giallorossi. They could make it six defeats on the bounce against a specific opposition in Serie A for the first time since a run of seven against Milan in 2008/2011.
Roma
Despite enjoying a sublime Europa Conference League campaign, things have not gone Roma’s way in Serie A lately. After racking up a three-game winning streak, Jose Mourinho’s men have gone winless in their last three league outings (D2, L1), averaging only 0.66 goals per match.
Another failure to capture all three points would see Roma go winless in four successive Serie A games for the first time under Mourinho’s stewardship. Yet, they could not turn to their away form for inspiration after picking up just a single win on their last four league travels (D2, L1).
The Giallorossi could only manage an uneventful goalless draw with mid-table Bologna last time out, meaning they could go back-to-back Serie A fixtures without scoring for the first time in 2022. Roma should feel relaxed knowing they’ve bagged 2+ goals in their last five league H2Hs.
Fiorentina vs Roma Team News
Barring a long-term absentee Gaetano Castrovilli, Fiorentina head coach Italiano will have an otherwise fully-fit squad for Monday’s showdown.
The same goes for Mourinho, who has all of his star players but Henrikh Mkhitaryan available for selection.
Fiorentina Potential Starting XI (4-3-3): Pietro Terracciano; Alvaro Odriozola, Nikola Milenkovic, Igor, Cristiano Biraghi; Giacomo Bonaventura, Lucas Torreira, Alfred Duncan; Nicolas Gonzalez, Arthur Cabral, Riccardo Saponara.
Roma Potential Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Marash Kumbulla; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Bryan Cristante, Jordan Veretout, Mateus Vina; Lorenzo Pellegrini; Afena-Gyan, Tammy Abraham.