Fiorentina vs. Roma – Serie A: Match Preview & Predicted Lineups | OneFootball

After falling to Inter last weekend, the capital club face another pivotal league affair against Raffaele Palladino’s men.

Coming off their midweek Europa League victory over Dinamo Kiev, Roma travel to Tuscany to take on in-form Fiorentina on Sunday evening.

Winless in their previous two league fixtures, the pressure is on the tenth-placed Giallorossi to earn a result against the hosts, who enter on a six-match unbeaten run.

The match is scheduled to kick-off at 20.45 CET on Sunday in Firenze.

Roma

Sitting tenth in the Serie A table, Roma have to get back on track after their poor start to the campaign.

After falling last weekend to Inter, the Giallorossi got back to winning ways on Thursday, narrowly winning 1-0 over Dinamo Kiev in the Europa League. Despite the win, the match highlighted Roma’s wastefulness on top of their season-long goalscoring struggles.

So far this season, Juric’s men have only scored two or more goals in 2 of their 11 matches across all competitions. Through eight rounds, Roma have scored only 8 goals in Serie A—their worst offensive start to the season since 2010/11.

“When a team has this much possession, we’re top of the table when it comes to shots on goal,” stated the Croatian technician during his pre-match press conference.

“We’ve hit the woodwork multiple times. There have been a lot of clear chances, the other night too. We have the technique and the ability to execute. We need to believe in ourselves a bit more.”

He continued, “It’s not just one thing. We’ll keep working and ensure that we get there. Let’s hope that everyone has a bit of a breakthrough.”

Barring any last-minute change, veteran defender Gianluca Mancini is expected to be available against La Viola after missing Thursday’s clash due to flu-like symptoms. Matias Soule also missed the game due to illness but his status for Sunday is a question mark.

Meanwhile, Alexis Saelemaekers is still out due to an ankle injury but could return in the coming weeks.

Fiorentina

La Viola followed up last weekend’s impressive 6-0 win against Lecce with a midweek win over St. Gallen in the Conference League. The result extended their unbeaten streak to six—their last defeat occurring over one month ago against Atalanta.

They’ve secured impressive victories during this stretch, overcoming tough opponents like Lazio and Milan. Meanwhile, manager Raffaele Palladino has cited his team’s mentality for their run of positive results.

“The win over St. Gallen was great for us in terms of our character and technical qualities,” Palladino told reporters on Thursday.

“I saw good moments and temperament from everyone—I’m particularly happy since I asked the team for confirmation after our win against Lecce, not to mention I was asked it from guys who haven’t had much space so far.”

Adding, “I’m really happy with the team’s spirit—we’ve never lacked the right attitude. I always preach that we’ve got to maintain our balance and stay humble because we don’t have much time to recover for Roma.”

In team news, Palladino will be without his side’s marquee summer signing, striker Albert Gudmundsson. The Iceland international suffered a hamstring strain against Lecce and won’t recover in time.

Meanwhile, midfielder Rolando Mandragora is also out as he continues to recover from a knee injury that occurred earlier this month. Also, Robin Gosens is expected to start again at left back in place of captain Cristiano Biraghi.

Predicted Lineups

FIORENTINA (4-3-2-1): De Gea; Dodò, Ranieri, Comuzzo, Gosens; Adli, Cataldi, Bove; Colpani, Beltran; Kouame

Unavailable: Marin Pongracic, Albert Gudmundsson, Rolando Mandragora

ROMA (4-3-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Celik, Cristante, Koné, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk

Unavailable: Alexis Saelemaekers, Stephan El Shaarawy, Matias Soule