Stadio Artemio Franchi sets the stage for a high-stakes Serie A showdown between downtrodden Fiorentina and out-of-form Juventus. November’s international break arrived at the best possible moment for both teams, giving them a fortnight to regroup.

Fiorentina sacked Stefano Pioli on the eve of the international break following a dreadful start to the season. La Viola headed into the two-week hiatus from club football nailed to the bottom of the Serie A standings as one of only two teams yet to taste victory this term (D5, L6).

New boss Paolo Vanoli oversaw a pulsating 2-2 draw at Genoa on his touchline debut, with Fiorentina overturning an early deficit, only to drop points from a winning position once again. Despite avoiding defeat in his first game in charge of the Tuscan club, this remains La Viola’s worst-ever start to the season.

While the depth of the crisis in Turin is not anywhere near as severe, Juventus have performed well below expectations this season. Former manager Igor Tudor already paid the price, but new coach Luciano Spalletti has failed to get the underperforming Bianconeri back on track after his appointment in late October.

Juventus saw off newly promoted Cremonese on Spalletti’s debut. However, they’ve since drawn back-to-back matches in all competitions, including a gut-wrenching scoreless draw in the famous Derby della Mole last time out. That result left the record-time Italian champions on the periphery of the Serie A top four during the break.

Match Preview

Fiorentina

Despite failing to steer Fiorentina back to winning ways in his inaugural match in charge, Vanoli at least halted the club’s underwhelming three-game losing streak in Serie A. Though stuck at the foot of the table, the hosts are potentially one win away from climbing out of the bottom three.

Whether this clash could be a turning point for Fiorentina remains to be seen, yet the impending return to the Franchi may not inspire much confidence. Vanoli’s men have suffered a mind-bending four defeats in five home league matches this season, except for a 2-2 draw against Bologna.

Lecce’s stunning 1-0 win in Tuscany last time out knocked Fiorentina down from a ten-game scoring run on home turf. With that in mind, it’s hard to expect La Viola to replicate a superb 3-0 win from this corresponding fixture last season, which marked their first triumph in six matches against Juventus (D2, L3).

Vanoli must find a cure for Fiorentina’s notoriously slow starts to increase his team’s chances of upsetting the apple cart on Saturday. Indeed, they’ve trailed at halftime in a league-high four games this season, conceding a joint-high six first-half goals on home soil.

Juventus

Juventus have changed three managers since their last visit to the Franchi seven months ago. The newest coach, Spalletti, has yet to lose, but two stalemates in three matches is not what the Bianconeri had in mind when they handed him the reins.  

Sharing the spoils again would be a disaster for Juventus, who languish three points behind fourth-placed Napoli ahead of the kick-off. However, the visitors have not impressed on the road this season, winning just two of their five away league outings (D1, L2) whilst averaging 0.8 goals per game.

Home and away, Juventus have won only two of their last 12 matches across all competitions (D7, L3), highlighting the amount of pressure on the traveling side here. Still, Juve’s misfiring attack has failed to get on the scoresheet in three of their last four away league fixtures.

Needless to say, Spalletti must address his team’s scoring woes, which isn’t his only task. Indeed, Juventus have managed just one league clean sheet outside the Allianz Stadium so far this season.

Team News

Fiorentina will be without two starting wingbacks today. Robin Gosens and Tariq Lamptey are in the treatment room, along with long-term absentee Christian Kouame.

As for Juventus, Arkadiusz Milik, Daniele Rugani, and Gleison Bremer remain on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Dusan Vlahovic is expected to get the nod in attack ahead of out-of-sorts Jonathan David, who could leave the club in January.

Fiorentina vs Juventus Potential Starting Line-ups

Fiorentina (3-5-2): De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Nicolussi Caviglia, Sohm, Fortini; Gudmundsson, Kean.

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Koopmeiners; Cambiaso, Thuram, Locatelli, McKennie, Kostic; Yildiz; Vlahovic.

Fiorentina vs Juventus Prediction

Neither side would benefit much from a draw, but it’s hard to back either team with any real conviction. Therefore, a stalemate seems like the most realistic outcome.

Prediction: Draw