Returning from the international break with a point to prove in Serie A, Fiorentina host Atalanta BC at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday.
Having been thumped by Inter last time out, the Viola now aim to leapfrog their visitors in the standings and avoid slipping further behind the early pace-setters.
Match preview
© Reuters
Continuing their chronic inconsistency under attack-minded coach Vincenzo Italiano, Fiorentina have not posted a league win since the opening day, and despite securing progress to the Europa Conference League group phase by beating Rapid Vienna, they then suffered a heavy loss just before international football took centre stage.
The Viola conceded three times at San Siro as they fell to a 4-0 defeat against table-toppers Inter, and although they had more of the ball by far, a tally of just two shots on target told the tale of their failures in the final third.
It remains early days, though, and a year after taking just five points from their first five matches to start the 2022-23 campaign, Italiano's men sit on a respectable four from three despite their thumping in the second city.
Two weeks on from such a setback, Fiorentina will return to home soil in Florence, where they drew their first home match of the season, against in-form Lecce.
As last year, when juggling continental commitments with Serie A duty was a constant theme en route to the Conference League final, the Tuscan club kick off their latest European campaign next week, with a trip to Belgium to take on Genk - the first of three straight away fixtures.
Therefore, Sunday's game represents Fiorentina's last chance to impress their fans at the Franchi this month, and Atalanta's arrival comes on the back of two wins and only one loss from the clubs' four most recent meetings - the Viola having won just three of the previous 14.
© Reuters
An Ademola Lookman goal split these sides when they met in Lombardy last October, before they played out a 1-1 draw in Florence five months ago.
Following the latter result, Atalanta have won two of their last four away matches against Fiorentina and lost only once - they had won only twice in the previous 37, over a period spanning 1962 to 2018.
La Dea's bright start to the season has been unencumbered by any of the qualifying concerns Fiorentina have faced, as finishing fifth last term earned direct entry to the Europa League group stage, in which Polish champions Rakow Czestochowa await next week.
Atalanta have kept a clean sheet in two of their first three matches, beating Sassuolo and Monza either side of a shock loss to promoted Frosinone, and with summer signings Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca now off the mark in terms of goalscoring, the ingredients seem to be in place for a top-four push.
The latter's brace helped see off Monza's challenge shortly before the international break, which should reassure fans that sufficient firepower will be at Gian Piero Gasperini's disposal this season, despite the departures of Duvan Zapata and Rasmus Hojlund.
Now, ahead of Rakow's visit to Bergamo on Thursday evening, Gasperini's new-look side tackle one of their likely rivals for a European place this term, with three more precious points in their sights.
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Although they have built a squad to cope with the demands of both domestic and continental competition, Fiorentina must do without several players this weekend, as Yerry Mina returned from Colombia duty injured and joins Jonathan Ikone and Gaetano Castrovilli on the sidelines.
Recent signing Maxime Lopez is still suspended, too, but Czech midfielder Antonin Barak should be back in the fold.
Likely to feature up front, M'Bala Nzola has scored three goals and provided one assist in four previous Serie A matches against Atalanta - his best such record versus any club - and the ex-Spezia striker should hold off Lucas Beltran's claims for a starting place.
Atalanta's most notable absentee will be record signing El Bilal Toure, who has yet to make his debut due to a serious injury suffered in pre-season, so Gianluca Scamacca is set to lead La Dea's attack.
Meanwhile, in midfield, Dutch duo Teun Koopmeiners and Marten de Roon have both been involved in 22 sequences of play ending with a shot so far this season - a league-high, alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Piotr Zielinski.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Duncan, Arthur; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Brekalo; Nzola
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Toloi, Scalvini, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners, De Ketelaere; Scamacca
We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Atalanta BC
Fiorentina may have to wait for their first home win of the season, as Atalanta were one of the best away teams last season and have kept a couple of clean sheets already this term. Both teams will have one eye on their upcoming European fixture, too, so a draw may represent an acceptable outcome for either manager.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
