With their top 3 rivals Napoli and Inter facing each other on Sunday evening, Fiorentina have an excellent chance to boost their Champions League hopes with a triumph over struggling Bologna. Meanwhile, Felsinei are hoping to end a six-match winless run, but winning at Artemio Franchi looks like mission impossible at the moment.

Fiorentina still not at their best

In all fairness, Fiorentina were extremely unfortunate not to secure Champions League qualification last term, and everything suggests they will have a much more difficult task this season. And that is definitely not due to the fact that Viola are weaker than last term, since that is certainly not the case, but it is rather that there are more serious top 3 contenders this time out. Even if Fiorentina are five points adrift of third-placed Napoli at the moment, they are still in a pretty good position, especially given the fact the team will not be facing any of the top 6 sides in next eight league matches. And while back to back away defeats to Udinese and Roma are a cause for concern, the good news is Fiorentina have rediscovered their home form, having defeated the likes of Sampdoria, Hellas Verona and Dnipro in their last three matches. It is perfectly clear Vincenzo Montella’s side still have plenty of room for improvement, but they certainly won’t need to be nowhere near their best to continue the good home run against Bologna. With several important players back to the side, Fiorentina look a good bet to record a comfortable triumph.

Mario Gomez and Massimo Ambrosini miss out through injury and suspension respectively, but David Pizarro, Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Aquilani will be among those recalled to the starting line-up.

Bologna in the bottom three

There was nothing to suggest a similar scenario last season when Bologna eased off to a place in the mid table and probably deserved few more points based on their solid performances. However, the club chiefs did not exactly pull all the stops to replace several key men that left during the summer, while serious selection problems also halted their progress. Felsinei in turn started struggling from the off, slipping into the danger zone and they now find themselves two points adrift of safety. The team do appear to have enough quality and experience to avoid the drop, but surely they are not capable of matching one of league’s best sides on the road. The lack of confidence is seriously affecting their performances and with Felsinei currently on a six-match winless run, they will not relish the trip to Artemio Franchi. Having been soundly beaten by Juventus at their Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna cannot be trusted to fare any better against high-flying Fiorentina, especially given their 1-2-4 away record in the league this season.

Experienced forward Davide Moscardelli has recovered from injury, but Frederik Sorensen, Niccolo Cherubin, Diego Perez and Henry Gimenez remain in the infirmary.

Verdict

Fiorentina are slowly stabilizing their home form and with Viola packed with attacking potential, they can be trusted to continue the good run against out-of-sorts Bologna. Felsinei, on the other hand, are going through a very rough patch and I just cannot see them getting anything from Artemio Franchi.

Top pick: Fiorentina/Fiorentina   2.10 (11/10) @ Coral

Alternative pick 1: Fiorentina with -1.5 Asian handicap   2.20 (6/5) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Fiorentina to win to nil   2.40 (7/5) @ Paddy Power