Italian football expert Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) returns after his debut winner to preview Friday night’s sumptuous showdown between Fiorentina and Juventus.
Fiorentina v Juventus | Friday 19.45 | ESPN
With two consecutive away wins and six goals scored, Fiorentina appear to be back on track, with shades of the good-offensive football showed in the first season under Vincenzo Montella. This coincided with important players such as the German international Mario Gomez, Joaquin and Borja Valero coming back into the squad after injuries.
On Friday they face possibly the toughest challenge in Serie A, when they host Juventus at the Artemio Franchi. There is a fierce and old rivalry between the two teams and the visitors can expect a hostile reception in Florence.
The Serie A leaders will travel with a number of absentees. Andrea Barzagli, Martin Caceres, Kwadwo Asamoah, Romulo and Stephan Lichtsteiner won't be available and head coach Max Allegri is thinking of returning to the 3-5-2 system to protect his defence. Plus, he may rest Carlos Tevez, playing Kingsley Coman and Fernando Llorente upfront.
Fiorentina won't have similar issues with their starting XI with Giuseppe Rossi their only unavailable player. He’ll be back in early spring. With this in mind, I reckon Fiorentina will have chances to net at least once and I'm confident about them posing threats to Juventus.
On the other hand, they are still not reliable enough to trust, even if they are on top of their game so it’s hard to back them with any confidence. So, considering the hosts inefficiency this season, the fact Juventus are hampered by a number of unavailable players plus a vital game against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, I fancy both teams to score.
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Fiorentina v Juventus – Both Teams To Score (19/20 Betfair)
