Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella has lavished praise upon his Lazio counterpart Vladimir Petkovic ahead of Sunday's game between the two sides.

The Bosnian has guided Aquile into third place in Serie A after taking over from Edoardo Reja in the summer.

"[Petkovic] has proved himself to be a great coach," Football Italia quotes Montella as saying.

"He's a really balanced individual, he has a good way of working and he has adapted well to Serie A. He has some great footballing ideas and charisma too.

"Lazio are a complete side, but I don't know whether we are on the same level as them right now."

Fiorentina are sixth in the table.