Fiorentina play host to Atalanta BC on Monday evening knowing that victory will catapult them into the race for the top six in the Serie A standings.
The home side currently sit seven points adrift of their sixth-placed opponents, who know that defeat will bring more than just Fiorentina into the mix.
Match preview
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In February, it appeared far-fetched that Fiorentina could soon become the form team in Italian football, yet that is what has materialised over the past 13 matches.
Vincenzo Italiano's side have remarkably posted 11 wins and two draws during that period, moving into the top half of the Serie A table and keeping them in contention for two pieces of silverware.
Earlier this month, I Viola recorded a 2-0 victory over Cremonense in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final, and they repeated that feat by prevailing 4-1 away at Lech Poznan in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final on Thursday.
Only drawing with Spezia in Serie A in between those fixtures was a blip, yet everyone associated with Fiorentina will recognise that their best chance of European qualification for 2023-24 is through the cups.
That said, Fiorentina are on a seven-match undefeated streak in the top flight with a relatively favourable fixture list in front of them, and Italiano will want to push as hard as possible with just 12 points separating them to third spot.
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From Atalanta's perspective, there had been signs that they were back on track after a previous run of four defeats in six matches.
However, after victories over Empoli and Cremonense, La Dea went down by a 2-0 scoreline at home to Bologna last time out, keeping their opponents involved in the chase for sixth.
A similar scenario awaits Gian Piero Gasperini's team this week, particularly when many of their rivals would have played before them and already added points to their respective totals.
Although Atalanta have lost three of their most recent five away fixtures, Gasperini will be pleased to be on their travels, his team posting eight wins from 15 such outings in the league this campaign.
Team News
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Given their three-goal lead over Lech Poznan in the Europa Conference League, Italiano may be prepared to name a stronger side than initially anticipated.
Nicolas Gonzalez, depending on whether he recovers from a knock, and Josip Brekalo may feature on the flanks, as may Nikola Milenkovic who came through 90 minutes in Poland.
However, the likes of Sofyan Amrabat and Luka Jovic may be kept in reserve, Italiano still wanting to keep a balance with Thursday in mind.
Jeremie Boga is on standby to deputpise for Mario Pasalic after the Croatia international lasted just 24 minutes versus Bologna.
Merih Demiral may also come back into the defence, but Gasperini is unlikely to overly tinker with his side unless Teun Koopmeiners is in a position to return from injury.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Dodo, Martinez, Milenkovic, Biraghi; Castrovilli, Mandragora; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Brekalo; Cabral
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Djimsiti, Palomino, Scalvini; Maehle, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; Boga; Hojlund, Lookman
We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Atalanta BC
With Fiorentina growing in confidence in recent weeks, they will fancy their chances of heaping the pressure on their opponents. However, we are backing Atalanta to bounce back from their defeat last time out, earning a share of the spoils which will at least keep their points tally ticking over.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
