Fiorentinavs.Parma

The Viola, who have one foot in the Conference League semi-finals, have claimed three straight wins in Florence and aim for a fourth against an opponent who held defending champions Inter Milan to a draw last time out.

Match preview

Having rested a surplus of starters on Thursday, Raffaele Palladino must have been pleased that a much-changed side secured a 2-1 victory over Celje heading into next week's reverse fixture with the Slovenian outfit.

While the eighth-placed Violets could secure European qualification via the league, the Conference League may provide another avenue for continental participation next season, with the winners guaranteed a Europa League berth.

Back in league action on Sunday, the Violets remain in contention to finish as high as fourth, ensuring Champions League involvement, with Bologna (57 points) only five points ahead of Palladino's men with six games to play and Atalanta in third on 58 points.

With several clubs between third and eighth separated by six points, the outcome for Italy's European participants next term remains unpredictable.

While seventh could suffice — if the Coppa Italia winners (Bologna, Empoli, Inter or AC Milan) finish in the top six — the eighth-placed Viola will strive to end as high as possible and avoid leaving their fate to chance.

Standing in the Florence-based club's path to a fourth consecutive home victory are Parma, who have achieved several commendable results in recent matches.

Although Cristian Chivu's team are not out of the relegation conversation, a quartet of draws has seen them move three points clear of 18th-placed Empoli before gameweek 32.

Three of the four ties have featured comebacks, the latest of which saw the Emilians trail 2-0 to defending champions Inter after goals from Matteo Darmian and Marcus Thuram, only to score twice in 10 minutes through Adrian Bernabe and Jacob Ondrejka.

The 16th-placed side have shown their battling qualities since losing at Udinese in early March, even if those attributes have not translated into a second away victory.

The Crociati have not achieved success on their travels since defeating struggling Venezia in November, marking an ongoing nine-match stretch that has seen them lose six times.

While that statistic suggests that an eighth away setback could be ahead, the travelling support will point to consecutive draws against Monza (1-1) and Hellas Verona (0-0) as indications that Sunday's outcome is uncertain.

Fiorentina Serie A form:

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W

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D

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

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W

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D

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Parma Serie A form:

W

L

D

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D

Team News

Edoardo Bove remains sidelined due to his heart-related issue, while Robin Gosens and Andrea Colpani are unlikely to play any part because of injury.

Only Atalanta's Mateo Retegui (22) has outscored Moise Kean (17) heading into the season's final stretch, and the Viola man aims to add to his tally against lower-ranked opponents.

The visitors face player unavailability issues ahead of Sunday's trip to Florence, with Pontus Almqvist suspended, Yordan Osorio, Adrian Benedyczak and Valentin Mihaila uncertain and Matteo Cancellieri, Alessandro Circati, Gabriel Charpentier and Mateusz Kowalski ruled out.

Two of Ange-Yoan Bonny's six Serie A goals have been game-clinching strikes, and the young forward strives to be decisive against in-form hosts this weekend.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Cataldi, Fagioli, Parisi; Gudmundsson, Kean

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Del Prato, Vogliacco, Valenti, Valeri; Bernabe, Keita, Sohm; Man, Bonny, Ondrejka

We say: Fiorentina 2-0 Parma

Since losing 3-1 at Inter and 5-0 at Roma in December, four of Parma's seven away losses (with three draws) have been by narrow margins, highlighting the Emilians' defensive resilience.

Firing blanks in four of those seven games magnifies their goalscoring troubles, which could undermine them in Florence.

Written by

Anthony Brown

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