Fiorentina will be up against Juventus in the Serie A encounter at home at the Stadio Artemi Franchi in Florence on the 22nd of May. Juventus will bring their underwhelming and trophyless campaign to an end when they travel to the Fiorentina on the final day of the Serie A season. Meanwhile, hosts Fiorentina are engaged in a battle in the middle of the table and need points to qualify for Europe.
Arch-rivals Fiorentina and Juventus really have parity when it comes to direct action on the football field. However, Fiorentina have actually scored the same number of goals as Juventus until matchday 37. Both sides have found the back of the net on 57 occasions. Of course, Dusan Vlahovic, who is now playing his trade for Juve after securing a box office transfer in the winter transfer window, had played a large part behind Fiorentina’s goal tally.
Over the last decade or so, Fiorentina have not been any match and have struggled to compete with the Bianconeri in direct meetings. In their last 16 meetings with Juventus in Serie A, the hosts have managed to secure victories in only two. They have also failed to find the back of the net in eight of those 16 games, which paints a pretty poor picture on the field.
Although this particular campaign in the Serie A has been very promising, the conclusion seems to be bitter for Vincenzo Italiano’s side. They have lost four of their last five matches in Serie A. The worst of the lot was when they were condemned to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat by struggling Sampdoria last Monday.
Alex Ferrari and Fabio Quagliarella gave Sampdoria a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first half. Morten Thorsby and Abdelhamib Sabiri then put the game to bed with two goals in the second half. While Nicolas Gonzalez scored from the penalty spot in the dying minutes and Omar Colbey got red-carded for the hosts, it proved to be nothing more than mere consolation for Vincenzo Italiano’s men.
That poor run in the last five games has seen Fiorentina suffer as many losses in their previous 20 league matches. During that run, they had won 11 of their games and had started to inspire the people of Florence.
With that being said, however, Vincenzo Italiano’s side have been extremely impressive at home. They’ve picked up 38 points at their Tuscan headquarters and they are only one win away from a record 41-point haul, which would only put them behind reigning and defending champions Inter Milan in home matches this season.
12 impressive victories from 18 matches played so far in Florence have transformed Fiorentina into a potent attacking unit. They are within a sniff of qualifying for Europe for the first time since 2017. Heading into the final round of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign, they are locked on 59 points, level with Atalanta and ahead on the basis of goal difference, for the Europa Conference League spot. The Europa League spot is beyond them with both Lazio and Roma having a comfortable four-point lead.
Juventus’ woes during this dismal campaign was summed up in the previous match against Lazio on Monday. Despite taking a two-goal lead through Dusan Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata in the first half, they failed to close the game. This allowed Lazio the opportunity to bounce back in Turin and that’s exactly what they did. Alex Sandro inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the second half, while Sergej Milinkovic Savic scored in the sixth minute of added time as Juventus let their two-goal lead slip.
Even if they win against Fiorentina in the final match of the campaign, they are set to end this Serie A season with a maximum of 73 points, which is the club’s worst total in 11 years. They are currently on 70 points and are six points behind Napoli in third place. They train league leaders AC Milan by as much as 13 points heading into the final round of the campaign.
The 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Allianz Stadium where Juventus allowed their opponents to bounce back was even more disappointing given that it just followed their Coppa Italia Final defeat. That loss to reigning Italian champions Inter also followed a similar script. Juventus had a one-goal lead in the second half but ended up losing the contest 4-2 and with it, their final chance of winning silverware this season came to an end. Before the Coppa Italia final, the Old Lady of Turin had also suffered an upset at the hands of relegation-threatened Genoa.
Juventus are winless in their last three matches and their only victory this month arrived way back on the first day when they defeated another relegation-threatened outfit in Venezia. Following nine years of domestic dominance when they won the Serie A title every single season, Juventus were deposed as kings of Calcio last year by Inter Milan. They have missed out entirely on silverware and will finish fourth in the league table for the second consecutive season.
During the middle of the season, it seemed that Juventus’ problems were coming to an end as the return of Massimiliano Allegri helped them go on a 16-game unbeaten run. Allegri seemed to have worked his magic and shored up the Bianconeri backline. However, the defence is under the scanner once again as they have conceded at least one goal in each of their last seven matches in the league.
Juventus will also be bidding goodbye to their loyal servant over the years, Giorgio Chilleini. The Bianconeri veteran and captain was also a Fiorentina loanee at one point in his career and he is likely to part ways with Italian top-flight football with his final game in Florence on Saturday.
Juventus have an excellent history as well as recent record against the side from Florence. They defeated them 3-0 on aggregate during the Coppa Italia semi-finals and had also gotten the better of them 1-0 during the reverse Serie A fixture in Turin. The Old Lady have also stolen promising prodigies Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa from Florence and have a psychological advantage over them as well.
While Chiesa’s season had come to an end long before owing to a serious injury, Vlahovic will be very motivated in the race for the Capocannoniere crown. The former Fiorentina striker is three goals behind Lazio’s Ciro Immobile in the Italian top-scorer rankings and he will need a magical performance on his old stomping ground to have any hopes of displacing Immobile at the top.
FIO vs JUV, Serie A 2021/22
Date: 22nd May, 2022
Time: 12:15 AM IST
Venue: Stadio Artemi Franchi, Florence
FORM GUIDE:
Fiorentina Serie A form:
- W-L-L-L-W-L
Fiorentina form (all competitions):
- L-L-L-L-W-L
Juventus Serie A form:
- W-D-W-W-L-D
Juventus form (all competitions):
- W-W-W-L-L-D
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Fiorentina wins: 40
Draws: 58
Juventus wins: 89
TEAM NEWS:
Fiorentina Team News: Following their rather humiliating defeat at the hands of Sampdoria in the previous game, Fiorentina might be forced into making several changes. Long-term absentee Gaetano Castrovilli remains out of contention owing to injury while reliable midfielder Sofyan Amrabat will be able to return to action after serving a one game suspension in the previous clash.
Amrabat is vying with Uruguayan dynamo Lucas Torreira for a spot in the center of the Fiorentina midfield. However, both of them could end up starting the game as Youssef Maleh will also be out for the side from Florence due to a one-match ban. Alvaro Odriozola will compete with Lorenzo Venuti for a spot at right-back.
Arthur Cabral and Krzysztof Piatek, who were signed as Vlahovic’s replacements, are expected to be the wreckers in chief upfront. Vincenzo Italiano is likely to persist with a familiar 4-3-3 formation at home that brings the best out of his attacking resources.
Juventus Team News: The upcoming summer window will see many familiar faces departing as far as the Old Lady of Turin are concerned. Alvaro Morata is unlikely to be retained by the Italian giants and he might join forces with Paulo Dybala, who also bid a tearful goodbye to the Binconeri faithful at home on Monday, and recent arrival Dusan Vlahovic whose goal-scoring prowess has taken the league by storm.
Giorgio Chiellini and Federico Bernardeschi are also expected to make their final appearances for Juventus in Florence and both players have previously donned the Fiorentina jersey.
On the other hand, American midfielder Weston McKennie recently returned to full training but Max Allegri could be cautious in deploying him. He is likely to start from the bench following a long injury layoff.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Duncan; Gonzalez, Cabral, Ikone
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Bonucci, De Ligt, Chiellini; Bernardeschi, Locatelli, Miretti, Rabiot, Sandro; Morata, Vlahovic
Predictions:
Fiorentina will be able to break their losing streak by taking a point off Juventus in the final game of the season at home. However, that may not be enough to secure Europa Conference League football as Atlanta are also in contention for that spot. Despite their horrific recent and past record in direct meetings with Juventus, Fiorentina will have to seize the opportunity for themselves if they wish to play in Europe next season.
On the other hand, a season of toil and indifference finally seems to be coming to an end for Juventus which might bring some respite to the supporters. They may not be entirely focused on football given that several of their key players will be bidding emotional goodbyes ahead of further upheaval at the club in the upcoming weeks.
FIO vs JUV Fantasy XI No. 1
FIO vs JUV Fantasy XI No. 2
