Having boosted their top 3 hopes with an impressive triumph over AC Milan at San Siro, Fiorentina will be looking to rediscover their home form when they take on Sampdoria. The visitors are in problems following back to back defeats to Hellas Verona and Sassuolo, but Artemio Franchi is not exactly a perfect place to make up lost ground.

Viola back in business

Fiorentina exacted perfect revenge on AC Milan for losing last year’s top 3 race to the Rossoneri as they poured more misery on their rivals with a 2-0 triumph at San Siro. The victory was extremely important for Vincenzo Montella and his men seeing they had just suffered a home defeat to Napoli, thus hurting their Champions League hopes. Viola remain seven points behind third-placed Juventus, but with the Bianconeri facing the Azzurri on Sunday evening, this will feel as a perfect opportunity to further close that gap. And in all fairness, Fiorentina should have no problems disposing of out-of-sorts Sampdoria. Certain injuries to star players are creating small problems for Vincenzo Montella, but with back-up players already proving their worth on several occasions this season and Viola performing well regardless of the starting formation, that is unlikely to prevent the hosts from proving why their Artemio Franchi is considered a real fortress. Taking also into account that Viola tend to break most opponents early on, I do expect to see them at least a goal up by half-time break.

David Pizarro is doubtful with a muscle problem, but Mario Gomez, Massimo Ambrosini, Marko Bakic and Ahmed Hegazy are definitely out.

Huge selection problems for under-fire Rossi

Having seen key players Mauro Icardi and Andrea Poli leave in the summer, Sampdoria have failed to sign decent replacements, with their current squad even thinner than last term. It is the lack of strength in depth that is proving to be a major issues now that injuries and suspensions have kicked in, with Samp now in serious danger of slipping into the bottom three. Back to back wins over Livorno and Atalanta helped the team recover from a seven-match winless run, but defeats to Hellas Verona and Sassuolo that ensued further damaged the players’ confidence. And if that was not enough, under-pressure coach Delio Rossi will be without a host of first team regulars for the trip to Artemio Franchi, so you will forgive me for doubting the visitors’ credentials in this match. The youthful Sampdoria side don’t seem to know how to battle with the lack of confidence and the lack of experience will make their task even more difficult. It is more than clear that Delio Rossi doesn’t have decent replacements for the numerous absentees, meaning this could easily be the end of the road for the experienced coach.

Andrea Costa and Daniele Gastaldello are both suspended, whereas Paolo Castellini, Gianluca Sansone, Bartosz Salamon and Antonino Barilla are out injured. Manolo Gabbiadini and Shkodran Mustafi are injury doubts.

Verdict

Everything suggests in-form Fiorentina will have an easy job against struggling Sampdoria, especially as the visitors arrive in Florence with what resembles a second-string side. A big home win looks on the cards, and you should place your bets accordingly.

Top pick: Fiorentina/Fiorentina   2.05 (21/20) @ Coral

Alternative pick 1: Fiorentina with -1.5 handicap   2.15 (23/20) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Rossi to score   2.20 (6/5) @ 888sport