Two sides performing above expectations in Serie A meet at the U-Power Stadium on Friday, when Monza host Fiorentina.

In a meeting between two highly-regarded managers, Raffaele Palladino takes on Vincenzo Italiano, with both eyeing up qualification for Europe.

Match preview

After a fine debut season in Serie A, Monza look likely to consolidate a place in the top 10, while a push for Europe is not yet off the cards.

Pallardino's side currently sit 10th but are just five points behind Atalanta in the final European spot, with the race for those positions incredibly tight at present.

Home form has been key for Monza putting together another fine start, as they have lost just once in eight games at the U-Power Stadium, with defensively solidity proving crucial with four clean sheets in that time.

Only Juventus, AC Milan and Bologna have conceded fewer goals at home, but they suffered a bruising 3-0 defeat on the road at the hands of the Rossoneri last weekend, despite playing well and creating plenty of chances of their own.

Monza have lost five games this season, but they have all been against sides who finished in the top seven last season, remaining unbeaten in their 10 games against sides who did not finish in the European places.

Fiorentina were awarded a spot in Europe after Juventus were kicked out, but they struggled in their clashes with Monza last season, as the then-newly-promoted side took four points off La Viola.

Italiano's side threw away a 2-0 lead to lose here in April, but luckily for them, it did not affect their league position, as eighth was ultimately enough for a spot in the Europa Conference League.

The Tuscan side are performing even better this season but are going slightly under the radar despite being just a point off the top four.

Never-ending drama at Napoli and Roma and the form of surprise-package Bologna has taken some of the limelight away from Fiorentina's start, but Italiano is once again proving his worth as a top manager.

After being linked with the Napoli job over the summer, but ultimately being overlooked, Italiano now has his Fiorentina side level on points with the champions, as a tally of 27 points from their opening 16 games is the best start La Viola have made in eight years.

Since a difficult spell where Fiorentina faced Lazio, Juve, Bologna and Milan in succession - losing three - they have now taken seven points from their last three and also sealed top spot in their UECL group.

Surviving an early scare where Milan Djuric missed a first-half penalty for Hellas Verona last weekend saw Fiorentina eventually win 1-0, thanks to Lucas Beltran's late strike.

That extended their run of form to one defeat in nine games and saw them score their 107th goal of the calendar year - a new club record.

Team News

There is just one absentee for Monza, and that is Gianluca Caprari, who is currently recovering from an ACL tear.

Teenager Samuele Vignato returned to the matchday squad for the Milan defeat after a brief absence and could feature here after only being an unused substitute at San Siro.

Despite the margin of defeat, there were enough positives for Palladino to take, so Monza could remain unchanged.

Fiorentina are set to be without key man Nicolas Gonzalez again here, as attempts to manage his fitness failed after he broke down again with a thigh injury inside 20 minutes against Ferencvaros last week.

Gonzalez was rested for clashes with Salernitana and Parma at the start of the month and was only a late sub against Roma, but he missed the win over Verona after picking up that recurrence in Hungary.

M'Bala Nzola came in to play as a central striker in an attacking shake-up, but he is likely to drop out after being replaced at half time.

That could see Beltran move into the lone striker role, with Antonin Barak coming into the side to play behind him, and Andrea Sottil and Jonathan Ikone offering wide support.

Giacomo Bonaventura was not brought off the bench despite returning from injury last week, but the veteran midfielder should come back into the side here.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Dodo remains out long-term, while Gaetano Castrovilli will also not return until the new year due to an Achilles tendon issue.

Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; D'Ambrosio, Caldirola, Carboni; Pedro Pereira, Gagliardini, Pessina, Kyriakopoulos; Colpani, Colombo, Dany Mota

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Kayode, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Lopez; Ikone, Barak, Sottil; Beltran

We say: Monza 1-1 Fiorentina

A win for either side would be huge at this stage of the season with the table in its current state, but the two are likely to cancel each other out in this one.

Monza's pragmatic approach could well frustrate a Fiorentina side without talisman Gonzalez, as the visitors have been involved in close encounters in the majority of their matches this season.


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