Juventus vs Fiorentina

As ironic as it sounds, Juventus and Fiorentina are set to trade tackles in a bottom-half Serie A contest at the Allianz Stadium.

Marquee striker Dusan Vlahovic halted a four-month scoring drought in Serie A with a match-winning double at Salernitana in midweek, inspiring Juventus to an overwhelming 3-0 away victory. After arresting an abysmal three-game winless league run (D1, L2), ‘I Bianconeri’ are keen to maintain recovery following a morale-damaging 15-point deduction for ‘financial irregularities.’ There’s no room for mistake if they’re to bolster their faint hopes of closing a whopping 12-point deficit on sixth-placed Atalanta. Back to home soil, where they suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to top-flight debutants Monza last time out after going unbeaten in their first ten home league outings (W7, D3), Juventus will seek another H2H triumph. Indeed, the hosts have been victorious in ten of their last 11 home meetings with Fiorentina in Serie A (L1).

In the meantime, visiting Fiorentina can hardly be proud of their recent performances, going winless in four consecutive Serie A matches (D1, L3) after a dramatic 2-1 home triumph over Sassuolo in early January. Vincenzo Italiano’s men have experienced a woeful league start to the new calendar year, with only three teams picking up fewer Serie A points in 2023 than ‘La Viola’ (6). If that’s not enough to dampen the spirits in the visiting camp, Fiorentina have failed to win any of their eight away league clashes against sides starting this round outside the bottom-four (D3, L5). Moreover, Italiano’s poor-performing frontline netted only four goals across those eight encounters.