Serie A: Fiorentina Bid To Avoid Christmas Near The Drop Zone

Juventus vs Fiorentina

Juventus have been a little inconsistent of late – even Cristiano Ronaldo proved he was human by missing a penalty in last week’s draw with Atalanta.

On saying that, they always have a chance when they have the Portuguese genius in the team, as shown by another two-goal showing in the weekend romp at Parma and a recent comprehensive showing at Barcelona.

Fiorentina, meanwhile, would love to have such a household name in their ranks but have historically had to sell their best players, most recently Federico Chiesa to the Italian champions.

So as Serie A contests go, this should be a home banker.

Talking Points

Although Fiorentina have enjoyed memorable days mixing it with the top end of European football, those days are some way off right now as indicated by their position, just four points adrift of the drop zone.

Unrealistic expectations have been labelled as one factor behind their position with boss Cesare Prandelli attributing such to their current anxiety.

He saw ‘improvements’ in their weekend draw with Hellas Verona – their second consecutive 1-1 stalemate – but Juventus will be another level up.

Certainly, any repeat of the fourth place finish secured in 2015 seems a rebuild away.

They have scraped four draws in the last eight matches and while I don’t expect them to be drawn into a relegation fight, they certainly aren’t in a position to challenge for a European berth either.

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La Liga

On saying that, Fiorentina could start the new calendar year only a point clear of the bottom three if they lose to their rivals and Genoa pick up only a second Serie A win of the campaign the following night.

Prandelli, who returned to the Viola dugout last month November after succeeding Beppe Iachini, has yet to taste league success since returning.

There may not be fans in the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night but the rivalry between these two is clear, not helped by key players leaving Florence for Turin over the years, most notably Roberto Baggio.

Juve attract followers from far and wide, but never from Florence, the Renaissance city loyal to its own side almost exclusively.

Indeed, in 1982, when Juve pipped them to the Scudetto, Fiorentina fans cursed Juventus, unable to hide their loathing of the despised Torinese side. “Meglio secondi che ladri,” they said, “better to be second than to be thieves,” convinced that the chance of only their third league title had been stolen.

The pathway has remained with Fiorentina unable to hold on to some of their stars such as Chiesa – the crown jewel in the Viola setup now wanting to test himself at the highest level as the Bianconeri chase honours both domestically and on the continent.

With Juan Cuadrado flourishing on the right-flank, Chiesa is battling it out with Dejan Kulusevski and Alex Sandro for a spot on the left-wing, but his stunner against Atalanta – his first league goal for the club – last week should be enough to earn a starting jersey.

For the hosts, Paulo Dybala, Arthur and Merih Demiral were injured at the weekend and all are expected to miss this one too, as is the suspended Alvaro Morata, although Giorgio Chiellini could return.

Serie A: Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace in Juventus 0-4 away victory against Parma — Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Juventus teammates after scoring against Parma

Juventus, who have won the past nine titles and created numerous Serie A highlights along the way, are unbeaten after 13 league games under Andrea Pirlo, although virtually half of them have been draws.

With statistics like that and Fiorentina without a league win since October 25, how can you bet against them?

History

These two met for the very first time in the 1931/32 season. Since then, they have met numerous times with Juve tasting victory on 82 occasions, 56 draws and 34 Fiorentina wins.

Of their 172 clashes, all bar 10 have come in Serie A with the others in the Coppa Italia (six times) and the UEFA Cup/Europa League (four times).

Last season Juve won this fixture 3-0 with two penalties from Ronaldo and a Matthijs de Ligt goal.

The match in Florence finished goalless.

Fiorentina have not beaten Juventus in their past six meetings and last won in Turin in 2008 when Daniel Osvaldo netted a last minute winner for Viola and was promptly shown a second yellow card for his over-exuberant celebrations.