Having opened their UEFA Europa League accounts during the week in the same manner, Fiorentina and Roma meet at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday night in a match that concludes Round 4 of the Italian championship.

Viola’s mixed start

Fiorentina have endured mixed fortunes to their start to new Serie A season. Paulo Sousa’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat at Juventus in the season’s opener, but managed to bounce back with a 1-0 win over Chievo last time out, thanks to a first-half goal from Sanchez. Last week’s abandonment due to a storm in Genoa was followed by a midweek Europa League draw at PAOK and Fiorentina will be extremely motivated to kick-start their campaign with a win over Roma that would prove to be a huge morale boost. Viola have managed to preserve their nucleus despite great pressure during the summer transfer window, but the lack of activity has left both manager Sousa and Viola’s most faithful frustrated. The attacking trident of Borja Valero, Josip Ilicic and Nikola Kalinic is once again expected to lead the line in attack. Having amassed 36 goals in total, the three key men are yet to put on their scoring boots, with only Kalinic managing to get his name on the score sheet so far. Highly anticipated match against Giallorossi will be a perfect chance to step it up.

Home side will have almost a full crop of players at disposal which comes as a great reassurance for Paulo Sousa who will be only without Matias Vecino for the Sunday’s game.

Roma a ‘Work in Progress’

With the deadline long overdue, Luciano Spalletti seems to be still working finding the right formula for his side. The experienced manager has so far been unable to solve Roma’s defence fragilities that have been following them from last season and that is one aspect of Giallorossi’s game he will be focusing on in weeks to come. Roma have conceded at least one goal in their last five matches, their 1-1 Europa League draw at Plzen included. Roma opened the scoring from the 4^th-minute penalty kick, but were unable to hold on to their lead having conceded only seven minutes later. Four clean sheets in their last 20 matches across all competition is a concerning piece of information ahead of their trip to Florenze. Heading into the game against Fiorentina, it could be of importance to mention that there hasn’t been a goalless draw between these two sides in their last 23 meetings. Games between two sides often provide plenty of excitement at both ends of the pitch and we once again expect a highly eventful match.

Abdullahi Nura, Mario Rui and Antonio Rudiger are all suffering from knee injuries and are yet to make an appearance this season. Fiorentina clash also comes too soon for the three of them.

Verdict

Serie A heavyweights Fiorentina and Roma go head to head eager to get back to winning ways after their Europa League stalemates and are sure to give all they’ve got to treat fans at Stadio Artemio Franchi with a visually appealing match. Roma have the better of Fiorentina when it comes to head-to-head duels between two sides and Luciano Spalletti are coming to town to grab the third straight victory over Viola. Fiorentina have a say too, and all we can claim with certainty is that there will be plenty of action at both ends of the pitch.

Top pick: Both teams to score – yes   1.67 (4/6) @Bet365

Alternative pick 1: Roma   2.55 (31/20) @BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Draw/Roma   6.25 (21/4) @888sport