Fiorentinavs.Monza

The sides are separated by five points in the standings, with the Viola holding an advantage over their visitors and also having one game in hand.

Match preview

Booking their ticket to Athens for the Europa Conference League final, Fiorentina ensured a second shot at lifting UEFA's newest trophy on Wednesday evening, as they edged out Club Brugge in a tense semi-final tie.

With the aggregate score poised at 3-3 when the Viola were awarded a late penalty in Belgium, Lucas Beltran coolly converted his spot-kick to secure a place in the decider.

Twelve months after falling at the final hurdle against West Ham United, the Tuscan club will seek redemption when meeting Olympiacos later this month, but first they return to domestic duties, having slipped behind in the race for a top-seven finish.

Although Vincenzo Italiano's men lost to relegation-threatened Hellas Verona last time out in the league, they have still posted more points and goals than at this stage last year; however, they could yet miss out on a return to Europe.

Should they ultimately win the Conference League, then a Europa League place would be ensured for next season, but as things stand, Fiorentina must try to overtake Napoli and Lazio in the Serie A standings.

After two seasons in charge, Italiano will depart this summer, and having recently exited the Coppa Italia, his last chance of lifting some silverware will come in the Greek capital.

Ahead of Monday's game, his team have gone unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 home league games, winning seven; their only defeats during that time were against Serie A's top two, so the hosts will start favourites against out-of-sorts Monza.

There has been a win for either side and one draw in these clubs' three previous top-flight fixtures, with the most recent meeting producing a 1-0 success for Fiorentina in December.

Reversing that result in Florence may prove a tall order for Monza, as following last week's dramatic 2-2 draw with Lazio they have drawn three of their last four matches and lost the other.

Spared defeat by a late Milan Djuric equaliser last time out, the Biancorossi have now failed to win in six successive games for only the second time since earning their first promotion to Serie A in 2022.

The previous occasion was back in the early autumn of that year, with such a barren run prompting the change of management that saw Raffaele Palladino promoted from the club's primavera to the position of head coach.

Any hopes of a European debut have therefore dimmed, and Monza are instead targeting a first top-half finish, having claimed 11th place at the end of last season.

However, only relegated Salernitana and lowly Frosinone have earned fewer points than the Biancorossi's nine against teams now inside Serie A's top 10, so precedent suggests they may need to rely on a busy Fiorentina side taking their eye off the ball.

Fiorentina Serie A form:

L

L

D

W

W

L

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

L

D

Monza Serie A form:

L

L

D

L

D

D

Team News

As only Riccardo Sottil is ruled out by injury, Vincenzo Italiano can rotate his squad following a tough game in Bruges, with M'Bala Nzola, Luca Ranieri and last week's goalscorer against Verona, Gaetano Castrovilli, heading a long queue for promotion from the bench.

Following Castrovilli's strike in a losing cause at Stadio Bentegodi, Fiorentina can boast the most different scorers (17) in Serie A this season, so Italiano has plenty of options to choose from.

One man who may not be risked is last year's Conference League final scorer Giacomo Bonaventura, who missed the trip to Belgium and is still hampered by a minor muscular problem.

Meanwhile, there is little doubt over Monza's selection up front, as Milan Djuric bagged a brace against Lazio, and only Duvan Zapata (seven) and Olivier Giroud (six) have scored more headed goals than his tally of five in Serie A so far.

Fellow forward Gianluca Caprari made his comeback from a long injury layoff last week, featuring in a top-flight match for the first time in 230 days: Fiorentina are Caprari's favourite opponent, having scored five league goals against them to date.

Elsewhere, Roberto Gagliardini returns from suspension and could start in central midfield, but the visitors are still without Andrea Carboni and Patrick Ciurria due to injury.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

Terracciano; Kayode, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Parisi; Duncan, Mandragora; Ikone, Castrovilli, Kouame; Nzola

Monza possible starting lineup:

Di Gregorio; Birindelli, Mari, Izzo, Kyriakopoulos; Gagliardini, Pessina; V. Carboni, Colpani, Mota; Djuric

We say: Fiorentina 1-0 Monza

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