Roma travel to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for an Italian Serie A fixture against Fiorentina. The capital club are looking to maintain their good form this season, while La Viola are aiming to snap out of a recent slump.
Fiorentina come into this clash off the back of a 2-0 home win over Sigma Olomouc in a UEFA Conference League clash on Thursday. Roberto Piccoli opened the scoring midway through the first half before Cher Ndour added the second in injury time.
That was a timely return to winning ways for Fiorentina, who have been without a victory in their last four Serie A matches and were held 0-0 at Pisa in their previous fixture. Stefano Pioli's men have also lost their last two home matches in the league.
Roma are coming off a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Lille in Thursday's UEFA Europa League fixture. They conceded early in the first half and went on to miss several scoring opportunities, including three penalties in the final minutes.
Manager Gian Piero Gasperini will consider that result a minor blip as Roma had won five of their previous six matches, including a 2-0 home victory over Verona last time out in Serie A. The capital club have also won all three of their away matches in all competitions.
How the bookies view it: Roma with the edge
Roma have the edge among the bookies and are priced at 11/8 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Fiorentina is valued at 9/5 while a draw is set at odds of 21/10.
Head to head: Roma on top
Roma have a 27-12 advantage with 11 draws in the last 50 matches against Fiorentina. The capital club also claimed a 1-0 home victory in the last meeting back in May.
Players to watch: Rock-solid Mancini
Gianluca Mancini has been a mainstay for Roma this season and is a pivotal figure at the heart of the defence. He has helped the capital club to four shutouts in the last seven matches and will be targeting a similar outcome (Roma clean sheet – priced at 2/1 with BoyleSports).
Fiorentina can also hold their own at the back and have kept clean sheets in three of their last five matches. Luca Ranieri has impressed this season and can help the hosts defensively (Fiorentina clash sheet – valued at 23/10).
Probable line-ups:
Christian Kouame and Tariq Lamptey are both ruled out for Fiorentina with knee injuries. However, striker Moise Kean is set to return to the team after serving a suspension in the Conference League, while Ranieri is expected to continue at the back.
Roma also have injury problems of their own, with Paulo Dybala, Leon Bailey and Edoardo Bove all sidelined. Mancini was a second-half substitute in the Europa League and is set to return to the starting line-up, while Artem Dovbyk should replace Evan Ferguson up front.
Fiorentina: de Gea, Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri, Dodo, Ndour, Mandragora, Fagioli, Gosens, Piccoli, Kean
Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Wesley, Cristante, Kone, Tsimikas, Pellegrini, Soule, Dovbyk
Anything else catch the eye?
There have not been goals for both teams in six of Roma’s last seven matches (BTTS NO – offered at 20/21 with BoyleSports). Six of their last seven matches have also produced under 2.5 goals (Under 2.5 goals – offered at 7/10).
Roma have won either half in five of their last seven matches (Roma to win either half – set at odds of 5/6).
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