In a meeting that could have massive ramifications for the top-six race, Fiorentina will welcome Lazio to Stadio Artemio Franchi on Monday night in Serie A.
Viola shared the spoils with strugglers Empoli last time out, whilst the Biancocelesti were successful on the road against mid-table dwellers Torino.
Match preview
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Fiorentina's pursuit of a European spot has taken a severe stumble in recent weeks as they have now won just one of their last seven Serie A matches after being forced to share the points against Empoli at Stadio Carlo Castellani last weekend in their 25th league contest of the term.
Viola managed to take a one-goal lead into the half-time interval thanks to a strike from Lucas Beltran, but the visitors were ultimately unable to hold on for a much-needed maximum in the second period, with M'Baye Niang bagging from the penalty spot for the hosts.
Following a concerning run of form since the beginning of the calendar year, Vincenzo Italiano's men have dropped to eighth in the Serie A standings, three points behind Roma in sixth and a sizeable 10 points behind fourth-placed Bologna, who are enjoying an extremely productive campaign to date.
Speaking of the Giallorossi, Italy international Andrea Belotti has arrived on loan for the remainder of the season from Stadio Olimpico, and the forward bagged his maiden goal for Fiorentina in the 5-1 thrashing of Frosinone on February 11.
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After the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Champions League-chasing Bologna on February 18, Lazio responded in perfect fashion on the road against Torino, with second-half strikes from Matteo Guendouzi and Danilo Cataldi securing an impressive away victory.
Although quite a distance from achieving another second-placed finish in Serie A this time around, the Biancocelesti currently occupy seventh place in the top-flight standings, sitting eight points behind Bologna, meaning Monday's visitors are still in the race for a European berth.
Recently netting his 200th goal across all competitions for Lazio since joining from Sevilla in the summer of 2016, Ciro Immobile leads the club's Golden Boot race this term with six Serie A strikes - twice as many as any of his teammates in blue and white.
Biancocelesti have a stellar recent record against Fiorentina, winning 19 of their last 28 competitive meetings, including a 4-0 thumping at Stadio Artemio Franchi during last season's edition of this fixture, when Immobile was unsurprisingly on the scoresheet against Viola.
Team News
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Fiorentina remain without the services of Oliver Christensen, who is suffering from a knee injury and is not expected back until late March.
Another Viola man targeting a return next month is Gaetano Castrovilli, with the 27-year-old yet to feature this season after picking up an Achilles tendon injury in August.
After receiving his marching orders in the final stages of the match against Torino, Lazio's Mario Gila will be suspended for Monday night's fixture.
Patric lasted just 11 minutes of the loss against Bologna due to a sprained ankle, and the Spaniard is set to be sidelined until next month with the issue.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Faraoni, Quarta, Milenkovic, Biraghi; Duncan, Mandragora, Gonzalez, Beltran, Sottil; Belotti
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Marusic, Lazzari, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Alberto; Isaken, Anderson, Immobile
We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Lazio
Despite mixed results of late, Fiorentina will be relishing the opportunity to leapfrog Lazio in the standings and the hosts are capable of three points on Monday.
The Biancocelesti recorded a stellar maximum on the road last time out, but we feel that the visitors will fall short of victory this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
