It’s faltering Fiorentina against goal-crazy Napoli at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in what should be an entertaining clash.
The contrast in recent fortunes between these two Serie A giants couldn’t be greater. Fiorentina are coming off the back of two disappointing away defeats against Genoa and Lazio, sitting considerably below expectations in eighth place. Inevitably, Portuguese Coach Paulo Sousa is again under pressure, with ever-increasing calls for him to be replaced.
Meanwhile, Napoli have been rampant in recent fixtures, racking up nine points and 13 goals in their last three league outings against Inter, Cagliari and Torino to leave them sitting handily in third place. The icing on the cake for the Vesuviani is the fact they qualified in top spot from their Champions League Group and can look ahead to a dream last 16 tie against current holders Real Madrid.
When you consider that they lost last season’s 36-goal striker Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus in the summer, and his replacement Arkadiusz Milik was cruelly hit with a cruciate ligament injury in October, one has to say that Maurizio Sarri’s men are worthy of great praise for their season’s work thus far.
Fiorentina under Sousa and Vincenzo Montella before him have been an excellent possession side in recent seasons, frustrating opponents and generally controlling the rhythm of a match whether playing at home or on the road. However, that possession game was nowhere to be seen at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, as Lazio edged them in this area while also exposing La Viola defensively on numerous occasions.
A big setback to the Gigliati was the absence of Spanish midfield maestro Borja Valero. The ex-Real Madrid man can protect the ball, change the tempo and find angles where others can’t and his likely absence in this fixture is a further headache for his Coach.
As for the Partenopei, they will line up in their traditional 4-3-3 formation and look to boss the match from the outset. After an initial period of settling in to his new position, the use of Belgian winger Dries Mertens in a false nine role is beginning to look like a game changer for the Azzurri. Mertens’ last two outings have yielded seven goals and he has 10 Serie A strikes for the season. Not only that, but his constant and varied movement blinds the opposition of reference points and offers unpredictability to Napoli’s build up work.
He is ably complemented in attack by the prodigiously gifted Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Maria Callejon, the king of the diagonal run. Sarri’s side will again be without injured Senegalese international centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly with Vlad Chiriches or Nikola Maksimovic standing in. Long term victim Milik is of course also still unavailable. Elsewhere in the side there are no further injuries or suspensions and last year’s Serie A runners up are likely to stick with the same side as last time out in the blitz of Torino.
Borja Valero apart, Fiorentina have no extra injury or suspension troubles and welcome back Argentine centre-back Gonzalo Rodriguez from illness. Milan Badelj and Carlos Salcedo are available again following suspension.
They are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Matias Vecino and Badelj taking the defensive midfield slots with Nikola Kalinic the lone frontman. He will require quick support if the Viola are to improve their goal-scoring fortunes. While Sousa’s men are unbeaten at the Artemio Franchi this Serie A campaign, they have only struck eight times in eight games on home turf and surely they need to improve on this ratio if they are to edge the free-scoring Campania outfit come Thursday.
All in all, this tie is truly one to make the mouth water with two sides full of quality and hungry for victory for differing reasons. Can Fiorentina dig their beleaguered Coach out of a hole or will the Napoli bandwagon keep on rolling?
Keep an eye on: Dries Mertens (Napoli) – The little Belgian is the man of the moment. He has been a quality wide player for many seasons, but while playing in the false nine position recently he appears to have reached another level. His pace, dribbling, movement, decision-making and finishing make him a menace to any opponent.
Form guide: Fiorentina (L L W W L) Napoli (W W W D W)
Last season: Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli
Stat fact: Since a 2-1 triumph in January 2009 Fiorentina have not beaten Napoli in Serie A at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, suffering four defeats and three draws.
Top tip: Over 2.5 goals
Fiorentina (probable): Tatarusanu; Salcedo, Rodriguez, Astori, Milic; Badelj, Vecino; Chiesa, Ilicic, Bernardeschi; Kalinic
Suspended: None
Napoli (probable): Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Chiriches, Ghoulam; Zielinski, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
Suspended: None
