Fiorentina are favourites to continue their outstanding Serie A form when they welcome relegation-threatened Spezia to Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday.

The in-form Viola got the better of Inter Milan last weekend, while this round's opponents could only manage a point against Salernitana.

Match preview

What a gameweek it was last time out for Vincenzo Italiano, in which his Fiorentina side beat Champions League-chasing Inter at San Siro 1-0 to continue their praiseworthy results.

The Tuscany outfit are unbeaten in Serie A since the middle of February, a 1-0 loss at the hands of Juventus that was their fourth reverse in five league fixtures at the time.

Since that slender defeat by the Bianconeri, 16 points have been picked up from six games, with their hot streak producing five successive top-flight wins.

The most recent success in the impressive run came at San Siro last Saturday, a game that gave Italiano his first triumph over Simone Inzaghi and Fiorentina's first win at Inter since 2015.

While all the talk has been about Juventus and their unforeseen challenge for Europe after their 15-point deduction in January, eighth-placed Fiorentina are only eight points adrift of Atalanta, and another win this weekend could see them apply added pressure on the Bergamaschi, even if they remain outsiders for that final continental berth.

Standing in the way of the Europa Conference League quarter-finalists are Spezia, who sit a spot above the drop zone as their position remains precarious.

One thing the Aquilotti have in their favour is the six-point separation from Hellas Verona, the side directly below them in the table.

Leonardo Semplici's team have not picked up maximum points in the league since beating Inter on March 10, and they need to turn draws into victories to avoid being sucked into a relegation scrap.

In addition to Spezia's threat of relegation is an inability to find the back of the net consistently, evidenced by outscoring only the division's bottom three sides.

Twenty-four goals in 28 matches is an average of less than a goal a game, although the fact that Semplici's team have netted twice in two of their last five games is a positive heading into the final stretch of the 2022-23 season.

The reverse fixture in Liguria ended 2-1 for Fiorentina, a game that saw Dimitris Nikolaou dismissed with eight minutes of normal time remaining before Arthur Cabral scored a late winner.

Team News

Last week's match-winner against Inter Giacomo Bonaventura should return to the lineup after sitting out most of Wednesday's Coppa Italia win over Cremonese.

Despite Gaetano Castrovilli being named among the substitutes in midweek, the midfield man could return to the team on Saturday.

Even though Luka Jovic is back after his virus, Cabral is expected to lead the line, and the striker will back himself this weekend after his match-winning heroics against the same opponents in October.

Nikola Milenkovic (illness), Riccardo Saponara (illness) and Salvatore Sirigu (Achilles tendon rupture) are out, while Sofyan Amrabat is suspended.

Joao Moutinho has not played for Spezia since January, and the left-back is not expected back on Saturday.

Arkadiusz Reca picked up his muscle injury in mid-March, missing the last three games, and he is not expected back this weekend.

Semplici was forced into substituting Emmanuel Gyasi and Nikolaou last weekend, making them doubtful for Saturday's clash.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Dodo, Quarta, Julio, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Mandragora; Ikone, Castrovilli, Gonzalez; Cabral

Spezia possible starting lineup:
Dragowski; Amian, Caldara, Ampadu, Bastoni; Bourabia, Ekdal, Kovalenko; Verde, Shomurodov, Agudelo

We say: Fiorentina 3-1 Spezia

Italiano's troops are flying at the moment, and only a disastrous showing against Spezia would see them drop points in the league on their turf.

With Fiorentina winning four of their last four against the Aquilotti in the competition, this should become five successive victories against a struggling side.


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