Fiorentina head to Luigi Ferraris to meet bottom-half Sampdoria, looking to take advantage of Roma’s slip-up versus Venezia and leapfrog them to sixth in the Serie A table. Vincenzo Italiano’s men will pursue all three points in Genoa, knowing it would take them two points clear of the Giallorossi in the last Europa League qualification spot.
Cagliari’s 3-1 home defeat to title-battling Inter has ensured Sampdoria’s survival with two games to spare. With nothing but pride left to play for, Marco Giampaolo’s side will at least look to wave goodbye to the home fans in style.
However, Fiorentina can ill-afford another setback and will be out to inflict more damage on Sampdoria’s lacklustre five-game Serie A form (W1, D1, L3). La Viola sealed an all-important 2-0 home victory over Roma last time out to end a run of three league defeats and reignite their Europa League bid.
It’s been five years since Fiorentina last featured in a European competition. Even though an underwhelming result would leave them in the Europa Conference League qualifying spot, Italiano’s men have higher ambitions.
There is plenty of reason for optimism in the travelling camp. Before falling to a 2-1 loss to Salernitana, Fiorentina had won seven of their eight previous Serie A meetings against sides starting the matchday in the bottom six.
However, it will be up to Italiano to plug his side’s defensive holes that have seen Fiorentina go 14 consecutive Serie A away games without a clean sheet. Conceding first could prove detrimental to the visitors’ hopes of silencing Ferraris. They have won none of the ten league matches on the road in which they shipped the opener this season (D2, L8).
Fiorentina can draw confidence from a comprehensive 3-1 win in the reverse fixture. They could now complete a league double over Sampdoria for the second time in three years, and no one can put it past them to achieve that feat.