With just one win in 2024, Fiorentina are desperately seeking success in Sunday's Derby dell'Arno, when they visit in-form Empoli at Stadio Carlo Castellani.
The hosts will be aiming to do a Serie A double over their Tuscan rivals for the very first time and drag themselves further away from danger.
Match preview
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A disjointed display in Wednesday's Derby dell'Appennino saw Fiorentina brushed aside by Bologna, who are now one of several clubs standing between the Viola and a precious top-four place in the table.
Gaining revenge for their Coppa Italia defeat to Vincenzo Italiano's team - on penalties, after a goalless draw - the hosts ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at Stadio Dall'Ara, serving up another setback for their foes from across the Apennines.
Beaten by Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-finals, and with just four points taken from six league matches this year, Fiorentina are not exactly in free-fall but are certainly causing concern for both fans and Italiano alike.
They trail fourth-placed Atalanta BC by eight points, but could yet go one step further than last year's final defeat in the Europa Conference League; Atalanta also await in April's Coppa semi-finals.
Ahead of their short trip across Tuscany, the Florence club's recent record at Stadio Castellani leaves a lot to be desired: three defeats from their last five visits to Empoli have featured three failures to even score.
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Indeed, Empoli have lost only one of their last six league games against Fiorentina, including a 2-0 victory in this season's reverse fixture, back in October.
That was a rare success during difficult times for the Azzurri, who have since enjoyed a dramatic transformation under survival specialist Davide Nicola, undoubtedly the architect of their mid-season revival.
Two wins and two draws since Nicola strode into town now means the former Torino coach could become the first manager to remain unbeaten through his first five Serie A matches in the club's long history - more pertinently, that run also sees Empoli looking down on the relegation places.
Last time out, two late strikes in a 3-1 win at rock-bottom Salernitana built more momentum behind their pursuit of salvation, but a dismal home record still requires improvement.
Having claimed just nine points at the Castellani this term, the Azzurri also possess the league's lowest tally of goals on home turf - a mere eight - so their long-suffering fans would celebrate beating Fiorentina with even more delight than usual.
Team News
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Though long-term absentees Gaetano Castrovilli and Dodo are still sidelined by injury, Africa Cup of Nations champion Christian Kouame should be back in Fiorentina's squad on Sunday, having returned from Ivory Coast.
It remains to be seen whether Lucas Beltran will be employed in a supporting role behind Andrea Belotti, or if Giacomo Bonaventura is instead retained by Vincenzo Italiano, who tends to chop and change his XI quite frequently.
Belotti has scored only once since arriving in Florence from Roma last month, but he has tallied eight goal involvements in his last seven league appearances against Empoli.
Meanwhile, the hosts now have an abundance of attacking options, including January signing M'Baye Niang - who scored from the spot last week - and veteran striker Francesco Caputo, back at Davide Nicola's disposal after overcoming an ankle injury.
Atalanta loanee Nicolo Cambiaghi and Alberto Cerri are set to be preferred, though, with perhaps Empoli's only change seeing Sebastian Walukiewicz returning to the back three after serving a suspension.
Another Poland international, Szymon Zurkowski (formerly of Fiorentina), should feature in midfield. Curiously, the latter has scored half of the Azzurri's home goals in Serie A this season - largely thanks to his hat-trick against Monza last month.
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Ismajli, Walukiewicz, Luperto; Gyasi, Grassi, Maleh, Cacace; Zurkowski, Cambiaghi; Cerri
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Faraoni, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Parisi; Duncan, Arthur; Gonzalez, Beltran, Sottil; Belotti
We say: Empoli 1-1 Fiorentina
Despite trailing their regional rivals by 16 points before kickoff, momentum will certainly be on Empoli's side this weekend. They may lack a clinical centre-forward, but Fiorentina still find a way to score most weeks so could still walk away with one point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
