Both beaten last weekend, two teams locked together on points in the Serie A standings clash on Saturday, as Fiorentina welcome Torino to Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Approaching their final fixture of the season's first half, the pair are perched just inside the top 10, but it would take a tremendous surge for either to reach the European places.
Match preview
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Like their upcoming visitors, Fiorentina progressed to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals last week, and Saturday's league game will foreshadow the teams' tie in the last eight, which takes place at the start of February.
However, after edging out Sampdoria in the cup, the Viola were unable to carry their momentum into last Sunday's 2-0 Serie A defeat to Roma, in which the die was cast when Brazilian full-back Dodo received his marching orders midway through the first half at Stadio Olimpico.
Following their first setback of 2023, sealed by a Paulo Dybala brace, Fiorentina have now lost seven league matches this season - exactly the same number as suffered in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign. However, they had won 10 of their first 19 fixtures last season, while just six have been posted after 18 games this term.
Vincenzo Italiano's men will not only be aiming to make up that lost ground in the coming weeks, but also chasing the club's first Coppa triumph for over 20 years; they also remain Europa Conference League challengers, and a knockout-stage duel with Braga is scheduled for the middle of next month.
More immediately, though, the 10th-placed Tuscans trail European contenders Atalanta, Lazio and Roma by 11 points, so capitalising on home advantage this weekend is all but essential if they are to get back in the mix.
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While Torino won their last league match against Fiorentina - and could win consecutive games against them for the first time in 20 years - their most recent Serie A victory at Stadio Artemio Franchi came as far back as October 1976.
Since that time, the Granata have lost 18 of 32 encounters between the clubs in Florence, so precedent is certainly not on their side ahead of Saturday's late kickoff.
Ivan Juric's men - above the Viola in ninth place by virtue of goal difference - are two points shy of beating their tally (25) at last year's halfway stage, and only once in the last seven seasons have they reached the midpoint with fewer than that total on the board.
Despite some promising showings, Toro - who memorably eliminated Milan in the Coppa Italia last week - have been particularly brittle on the road: they may have conceded just a sixth home goal in their 1-0 defeat to Spezia last time out, but have failed to keep a single clean sheet in nine away games.
Three draws and a defeat from their last four has stalled any assault on Serie A's top seven, so returning more points from a Tuscan double-header over the next week would provide a timely boost before their Coppa quarter-final.
Team News
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Not only are first-choice striker Arthur Cabral, winger Riccardo Sottil and centre-back Lucas Martinez Quarta all set to miss Saturday's game through injury, but Vincenzo Italiano will also be without Dodo, who must serve a suspension following his red card in Rome.
As a result, Lorenzo Venuti should come into Fiorentina's starting XI at right-back, and Luka Jovic may continue up front despite his recent decline in form.
Alternatively, Christian Kouame could shift up front in place of the latter, which would open up a chance for Nicolas Gonzalez - who may be destined for the Premier League this month - to return. The Argentina international scored his first-ever Serie A goal against Torino at Stadio Franchi back in August 2021, while four of his last five have come from the penalty spot.
Torino still have wing-backs Ola Aina (thigh) and Valentino Lazaro (knee) sidelined; injury-prone forward Pietro Pellegri also misses out alongside midfield regular Sasa Lukic, who may be replaced by Karol Linetty.
Most likely supporting Antonio Sanabria up front, Nikola Vlasic has created the most chances from open play in Serie A this season (36) - incidentally, Fiorentina full-back Cristiano Biraghi has made the most from set-pieces (32).
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Venuti, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Amrabat, Duncan; Ikone, Barak, Saponara; Kouame
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Zima, Buongiorno; Singo, Ricci, Linetty, Vojvoda; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria
We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Torino
Among teams inside the top half of the Serie A table, Fiorentina and Torino have the worst shot conversion rates - both less than 9% - so a low-scoring draw could be on the cards. Both sides lack an in-form finisher, so expect a close-fought affair at the Franchi.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
