Viola kept their Champions League dream alive with a 2-0 victory at Atalanta, but a victory over out-of-form Torino is a must if Vincenzo Montella’s side are going to remain in the race for a top 3 finish. I Granata slipped to 15th as they were beaten at home by Roma, and they are in for yet another very difficult encounter.
Fiorentina continue to impress
In spite of playing some excellent football during the opening exchanges, Fiorentina were in danger of ruining all their hard work with a dismal run of results at the start of the New Year. Nevertheless, Viola recovered well from a five-match winless run to win five of next seven league games and they thus effectively returned to the race for the top 3 finish. Not even the narrow defeat at Cagliari and Milan’s two-goal lead at Artemio Franchi could upset Vincenzo Montella’s side, who scored two goals with ten men on the pitch to earn a 2-2 draw against the Rossoneri before seeing off very good Atalanta side on the road. As a result, Viola now sit just four points behind third-placed Milan and with the Rossoneri playing Juventus in Turin, the game against Torino is a perfect opportunity for Fiorentina to further close that gap. Seeing as how Viola remain one of the best home sides in the top flight and taking into account that they usually kill off these kinds of games even before the half-time break, Torino really don’t have much to hope for at the moment.
Talented forward Marcelo Larrondo looks set for his first start after coming off the bench to score against Atalanta, while Adem Ljajic should be back to the starting line-up. Pasqual is suspended, whilst Jovetic, Rossi, Camporese, Llama, Wolski and Hegazy are out injured.
Torino in problems
Serie A have become famous for defence-minded football and tactical awareness and it is so rare to see newly-promoted sides attempt to beat the drop by adopting a positive approach in every single match. That is why Torino have been a real refreshment this season, with Giampiero Ventura’s attacking style of football proving efficient enough to help I Granata avoid the relegation tussle alltogether. The Stadio Olimpico outfit may have suffered a small dip in form, having picked up just one point from last three matches, but they have been as entertaining as ever, with those three games producing no less than fifteen goals. Torino are now in for a difficult task as they travel to Artemio Franchi to face in-form Fiorentina, but you can bet they will try to score a couple of goals in Florence as well and edge closer to clinching Serie A survival. Being eight points clear of the bottom three, I Granata are not yet in danger, but with games against Juventus and Milan next on agenda, they will want to bring something from Artemio Franchi.
Valter Birsa and Migjen Basha are back from injury and suspension respectively, but Matteo Brighi is not yet ready to return.
Verdict
Fiorentina tend to attack from the off at Artemio Franchi and they are usually at least a goal up by half-time. The trend looks likely to continue against struggling Torino, although with the visitors set to adopt a positive approach, we could easily see goals galore in Florence.
Top pick: Fiorentina/Fiorentina 2.20 (6/5) @ 888sport
Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score 2.00 (1/1) @ SkyBet
Alternative pick 2: Over 2.5 goals 1.90 (9/10) @ Stan James
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