Fiorentina vs Torino prediction, preview, team news and more | Serie A 2020-21
Fiorentina begin their 2020-21 Serie A campaign by hosting Torino at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
La Viola finished 10th under Beppe Iachini's guidance from December after a disastrous start to last season. Torino had an awful campaign to deal with in 2019-20, with Moreno Longo making way for Marco Giampaolo to take the reins.
Both sides have the rumoured exits of high-profile stars to deal with, but will nonetheless hope for better fortunes this time around.
Fiorentina have had an excellent pre-season, with Franck Ribery and Christian Kouame shining in particular. They thrashed Reggiana 5-1 most recently, with an excellent brace from Ribery.
Meanwhile, Torino suffered a recent 1-2 loss to lowly Pro Vercelli, with a draw against Pro Patria laying bare the need for the squad to come to terms with Marco Giampaolo's instructions.
Fiorentina vs Torino Head-to-Head
Fiorentina have had the measure of Torino in this fixture, winning five of the last 10 games between the pair. Torino, meanwhile, have only managed two wins, although one of those was a 2-1 victory at home last season. La Viola triumphed the last time these two teams met in July - a 2-0 win at the Artemio Franchi.
Fiorentina form guide: L-W-W-W-W
Torino form guide: : L-D-W-D-L
Fiorentina vs Torino Team News
Fiorentina's chase for defensive midfield reinforcements came to an end with the signing of Borja Valero, with the Spaniard returning to Firenze after three seasons in Milan with Inter. Alfred Duncan's loan from Sassuolo was made permanent for a €15 million fee, while Giacomo Bonaventura walked in for free after his contract with AC Milan ran out.
Christian Kouame and Pol Lirola were the others to have their loans made permanent, with Patrick Cutrone's loan still continuing even though the club appear to want to get rid of him. Meanwhile, Sofyan Amrabat has returned on loan from Hellas Verona.
There are plenty of players with their futures in doubt, such as Federico Chiesa and Kevin-Prince Boateng, but Beppe Iachini has the full backing of President Rocco Commisso. On the injury front, reserve goalkeeper Simone Ghidotti is out with an injury, while Sofyan Amrabat is a doubt.
Injuries: Simone Ghidotti
Doubtful: Sofyan Amrabat
Suspensions: None
Marco Giampaolo has made plenty of moves in the transfer market ahead of the season, with Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan) and Karol Linetty (Sampdoria) chief amongst the new arrivals. Ola Aina has left the club for Fulham for a sizeable €15-million fee, which ought to allow Torino to finalise their chase of Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira for a reported €24 million.
Daniele Baselli remains unavailable till December, while Wilfried Singo also picked up a shoulder knock in July that he is yet to recover from.
Injuries: Daniele Baselli, Wilfried Stephane Singo
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: None
Fiorentina vs Torino Predicted Lineups
Fiorentina predicted XI (3-4-3): Bartlomiej Dragowski (GK); Nikola Milenkovic, German Pezzella, Martin Caceres; Pol Lirola, Borja Valero, Alfred Duncan, Cristiano Biraghi; Federico Chiesa, Christian Kouame, Frank Ribery
Torino predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (GK); Armando Izzo, Koffi Djidji, Gleison Bremer; Ricardo Rodriguez, Karol Linetty, Tiago Rincon, Alex Berenguer; Simone Verdi; Simone Zaza, Andrea Belotti
Fiorentina vs Torino Prediction
Fiorentina have had a very impressive pre-season in stark contrast to their opponents, Torino. Christian Kouame and Franck Ribery ought to really trouble their opponents, especially with Chiesa supplying them from the wings.
Meanwhile, transfer speculation may distract Andrea Belotti from being his usual self, with Torino set to struggle in Florence.
Prediction: Fiorentino 3-1 Torino