Fiorentina - Torino predictions and free betting tips [29/12/2023]

On Friday, the 29th of December, as a part of the 18th round of the Italian Serie A, Fiorentina will host Torino at their home ground. The hosts have gathered 30 points occupying the fifth position in the league table, while the guests hold the tenth place with 24 accumulated points.

Predicted Line-ups

Fiorentina: Terracciano; Caiode, Milenković, Ranieri, Biraghi; Duncan, Arthur, Sottile, Ikone, Kwame; Beltran.

Torino: Milinković-Savić; Tameze, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ricci, Iličić, Voevoda; Vlašić; Zapata, Sanabria.

Stadium

The match will take place in Florence at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

Fiorentina

Last year, Fiorentina had a successful run in the Conference League reaching the tournament's final, and last autumn, the 'violets' once again excelled in the third-tier Euro Cup, finishing first in the group and directly qualifying for the ⅛ final. The club from Florence also shows decent results in Serie A, where they are seated fifth in the league table, lagging just one point behind the Champions League zone. Remaining unbeaten for a month in all competitions, Tuscan have won 3 out of 4 recent championship matches: against Salernitana (3:0), Roma (1:1), Verona (1:0) and Monza just before Christmas (0:1), with Beltran's 7th-minute goal deciding everything. Importantly, the hosts have improved their defence and haven't conceded at all in the last two games.

In Fiorentina's side, experienced Dodo and Castrovilli along with top scorer Gonzalez (6 goals in Serie A) will not be able to play, due to injuries. The same holds true for Quarta (defender) and Bonaventura (6 goals) who were recently sidelined. Argentine striker Lucas Beltran (3 goals) helped his team win the last two matches, so the Brazilian is expected again at the spearhead of the lilac-whites' attack. In Bonaventura's absence, Duncan will take up the support zone, while Ikone and Kwame will ply the flanks of attack. In total, Fiorentina scores almost 2 goals per home game on average (14 goals in 8 matches), while only 8 have been let in.

Torino

Torino continues to occupy the tenth position in the Serie A table. Nevertheless, in the second half of the season, the 'bulls' might fully engage in the battle for a European Cup ticket, as they lag just 6 points behind their impending opponents. Following an unconvincing victory over Empoli with a score of 1:0, the Piedmont side could only secure a 1:1 draw with Udinese last weekend, equalising the score in the closing stages of the match. On the whole, the white-and-browns feel more than comfortable: the gap from the relegation zone is 11 points, and the team from Turin is on a four-match unbeaten run in the championship. However, the guests' away stats are not impressive: they have gathered only eight points and haven't won any of their last three matches away from home.

Torino is expected to go to Tuscany without their leader Schyrs and regularly substituted N'Guessan. Karol Linetty has been recovering from a muscle injury in recent weeks, and the Pole's participation in the upcoming game remains uncertain. However, right lateral Raul Bellanova will be back in action after serving a suspension in the last round. Playmaker Nikola Vlašić (1 goal and 2 assists) and forwards Sanabria (2 goals) and Zapata (4 goals) are the team's best attacking assets, though it was midfielder Ilic who levelled the score last week against Udinese - all of them will definitely start on Friday.

Head-to-Head

Last season, Torino snapped a 32-match winless streak at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, coming out on top here with a scroll of 0:1.

Match prediction: Fiorentina – Torino

Fiorentina is in excellent form and seems capable of seriously competing for a spot in the Champions League quartet. For that, the hosts need to win at all costs on Friday, as they trail just one point behind the higher-ranked Bologna. Torino performs very poorly away and is unlikely to take points from Artemio Franchi. My prediction - the favourite's victory with a handicap of 0.

Total Prediction

Fiorentina boasts a quality attack line and scores an average of 2 goals per home game. Considering the guests' squad problems, it seems reasonable to bet on Torino's individual total of over 1.5 scored goals.