Serie A Preview: Roma – Fiorentina

Picking Up From Derby Win

Roma’s season has been pretty much inconsistent but their 2-0 win against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday was no fluke. The Lupi’s victory in the Rome derby was their second in a row in the league and third in all competitions.

The win also puts Claudio Ranieri’s team in seventh place on 15 points, just three behind Juventus, who are fourth. The Scudetto may just be out of reach but a place in the top four is not.

Ranieri remains hopeful of carrying on their run and maintaining the momentum and said, "We are overcoming a difficult time. We had problems at the start of the season but we are going in the right direction.

"I'm very happy for all the Roman fans that have stood by us in difficult times. Against Lazio, we played with intelligence and the team is improving.

"Now we must beat Fiorentina to make it three wins in a row.''

Recovery In Full Flow

Fiorentina’s rejuvenation is in full swing as the Viola won at the weekend, narrowly defeating Chievo 1-0 in Florence. It extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches and pushed them up to 11^th in the table.

Fiorentina currently have 12 points from ten matches and are just a win away from a Europa League spot. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side may just have turned the corner after a disappointing start to the campaign.

However, the Viola have a massive task on their hands in Rome as they have not won in the league away from Florence for almost nine months now. Furthermore, Roma have yet to lose at the Stadio Olimpico this season.

TEAM NEWS

Roma

Juan, Okaka, Taddei and Pizarro are out because of injuries and Cassetti is suspended. Totti returns to the team after missing the weekend’s Rome derby against Lazio and will start alongside Borriello in attack.

Fiorentina

Frey, Montolivo, Jovetic, Zanetti, Felipe and Babacar are injured for the trip to Rome. Gilardino will de deployed as the lone striker with Marchionni, Mutu and Vargas as the three attacking midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 system.