Today as part of the 26th round of the Italian Serie A, Fiorentina will host Lazio on their home turf. A week ago, the "violets" divided the points with the relegation-haunted Empoli, whereas the Biancocelesti managed to achieve a victory away from home against mid-table dwellers Torino.
Considered a serious contender for a European competition berth this season, Fiorentina currently holds the 8th position in Serie A, falling 3 points short of the top six. The Tuscan side has significantly slowed down recently: in the last seven rounds, they have won only once, drawn twice, and lost four times. Following their defeat from Bologna (2:0), the whites and violets last weekend came to a tie 1:1 with a sinking Empoli. Under the guidance of Vincenzo Italiano, they took the lead thanks to a goal from Lucas Beltran. Still, M'Baye Niang restored parity on the scoreboard with a penalty in the second half. In general, the hosts' home performances are average: they have collected 23 points from 12 home games (only the seventh-best in the division), scored 22 goals, and conceded 12.
Qualifying for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina also got into the round of 16 in the Conference League, set to face a tough challenge in the duel with Maccabi Haifa. The team's coaching staff laments over the absences of Dodo and Castrovilli, as well as the backup goalkeeper Kristensen. Koffi Djidji, a centre-back, will also likely miss the fixture. The attacking duo will be constituted by Beltran (6 goals) and this winter's recruit Belotti (1 goal in 4 matches). Faraoni (Verona) also joined the "violets" during the winter transfer window as a defender. Several players left Florence this winter, including winger Brekalo (Hajduk Split) and defender Yerry Mina (Cagliari).
Since the last season, Lazio has somewhat slowed down, and currently, the Eagles are 7th in Serie A, being 2 points behind the upcoming opponent. Having beaten Bologna at home last weekend (1:2), the charges of Maurizio Sarri got an advantage over Torino (0:2) last week – accurate shots from Matteo Guendouzi and Danilo Cataldi settled everything in the second half. Securing a win in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich (1:0), in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, they will have to face Juventus. It is paramount to note that Lazio performs commendably in away games: in 13 matches, they gathered 19 points (the fifth-best tally in the division), scored 18 goals, and let in 17.
Patrick (defender) and Rovella (midfielder) continue to be absent in the visitors' squad. Additionally, key winger Dejan Kulusevski is in the infirmary recovering. Recently, Ciro Immobile scored his 200th goal for Lazio in all competitions since moving from Sevilla in the summer of 2016 and took the lead in the race for the Capocannoniere title – he will certainly start on Monday. Assisting him on the flanks will be Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson (3 goals and 6 assists), and experienced Pedro is also available. Luis Alberto commands the midfield for the Romans, while Matias Vecino fortifies the defensive midfield position. This winter, the team underwent little changes: only rarely-used midfielder Savic was loaned out to Rennes.
The Biancocelesti have carried off victories in 19 out of the past 28 matches against Lazio, including a 0:4 triumph at the Artemio Franchi last season. The first leg concluded in a minimal victory for the Eagles (1:0).
Despite ambivalent recent performances, Fiorentina, in case of success, could overtake Lazio in the table and edge close to the European competition zone. However, achieving this will be extremely challenging: the Eagles have triumphed thrice in their last four fixtures in all competitions and are practically devoid of personnel issues. My prediction is for Lazio to win or draw (as has happened in all five previous H2H encounters).
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Napoli | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 19:9 | 26 | |
2 | Atalanta | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 31:15 | 25 | |
3 | Fiorentina | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 25:10 | 25 | |
4 | Inter | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 26:14 | 25 | |
5 | Lazio | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 25:14 | 25 | |
6 | Juventus | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 21:7 | 24 | |
7 | AC Milan | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20:14 | 18 | |
8 | Bologna | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 15:13 | 18 | |
9 | Udinese | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -3 | 15:18 | 16 | |
10 | Empoli | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | -1 | 9:10 | 15 | |
11 | Torino | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -3 | 15:18 | 14 | |
12 | AS Roma | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 14:17 | 13 | |
13 | Parma | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | -2 | 16:18 | 12 | |
14 | Verona | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -10 | 17:27 | 12 | |
15 | Como | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 13:23 | 10 | |
16 | Cagliari | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 12:22 | 10 | |
17 | Genoa | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -13 | 9:22 | 10 | |
18 | Lecce | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -16 | 5:21 | 9 | |
19 | Monza | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -5 | 10:15 | 8 | |
20 | Venezia | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -10 | 11:21 | 8 | |
1 | Lazio | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14:6 | 16 | |
2 | Napoli | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11:5 | 15 | |
3 | Atalanta | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20:8 | 15 | |
4 | Fiorentina | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14:6 | 14 | |
5 | Inter | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16:9 | 14 | |
6 | Juventus | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9:3 | 13 | |
7 | Udinese | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8:6 | 12 | |
8 | AC Milan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10:4 | 10 | |
9 | AS Roma | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9:7 | 9 | |
10 | Verona | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10:12 | 9 | |
11 | Lecce | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5:13 | 8 | |
12 | Bologna | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 7 | |
13 | Torino | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5:5 | 7 | |
14 | Empoli | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 6 | |
15 | Cagliari | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7:14 | 6 | |
16 | Venezia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6:7 | 6 | |
17 | Parma | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8:10 | 5 | |
18 | Como | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7:10 | 5 | |
19 | Genoa | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6:12 | 4 | |
20 | Monza | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5:9 | 3 | |
1 | Napoli | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8:4 | 11 | |
2 | Fiorentina | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:4 | 11 | |
3 | Inter | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10:5 | 11 | |
4 | Juventus | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12:4 | 11 | |
5 | Bologna | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:10 | 11 | |
6 | Atalanta | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11:7 | 10 | |
7 | Lazio | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11:8 | 9 | |
8 | Empoli | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8:6 | 9 | |
9 | AC Milan | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10:10 | 8 | |
10 | Torino | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10:13 | 7 | |
11 | Parma | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8:8 | 7 | |
12 | Genoa | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3:10 | 6 | |
13 | Como | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6:13 | 5 | |
14 | Monza | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5:6 | 5 | |
15 | Udinese | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7:12 | 4 | |
16 | AS Roma | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5:10 | 4 | |
17 | Cagliari | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5:8 | 4 | |
18 | Verona | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7:15 | 3 | |
19 | Venezia | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5:14 | 2 | |
20 | Lecce | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0:8 | 1 |
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