Fiorentina vs AS Roma 21/12/19

21 December 2019

This weekend’s Serie A (SA) action gets underway at the Stadio Artemio Franchi as out-of-sorts Fiorentina take on the resurgent AS Roma side.

Winless in their last six league outings (D2, L4), the hosts hover only four points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their clash against the side they’ve lost to in four of their previous seven top-flight H2Hs held here (W1, D2, L4). Fiorentina’s dismal recent home record against Roma is unlikely to improve here, given that they’ve failed to pick up three points in all of their last four SA home matches (D2, L2), scoring one goal or less in each of those fixtures. The one consolation for Vincenzo Montella is that his players have restricted their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match in seven of their previous eight home games in all competitions, keeping a clean sheet three times in the process.

Meanwhile, the visitors pulled off a stunning second-half comeback to beat SPAL 3-1 at home last time out, stretching their unbeaten SA run to four straight games (W3, D1). Notably, all three of their successes during the above run have seen Roma score exactly three goals per match, with 77% of their total goals scored in that period coming after the break. However, the Giallorossi’s indifferent away form over the past couple of months could be a major influence here. Paulo Fonseca’s men have won twice in their last five SA road trips (W2, D2, L1), with only one of those matches seeing both teams score. Another potential worry for Fonseca is that his men have drawn a blank on three occasions during that five-game sequence.