Fiorentina's Giuseppe Rossi will face a tough time against Juventus
Fiorentina fans have had a tough time over recent weeks and things look set to get a whole lot worse this weekend as they face last season’s champions Juventus.
The home side go into the game at the Artemio Franchi with only 1 win in their last 5 league and now sit 6thin the Serie A table despite their good start to the season. Back-to-back victories to kick off the new campaign saw Vincenzo Montella receive great admiration for his attacking philosophy and integrating Mario Gomez so well into his system.
Of the 59 chances they have created in the league so far, 25 came in the first two games. This, coupled with the drop in shots per game since Gomez was injured, shows the decrease in attacking movement from Montella’s side and although they may be seeing slight more possession, this is down to having an extra man in midfield.
Rossi’s early season partnership with Gomez looked set to fire them into the mix for the title this season and the pair managed to score 5 goals in the 3 games they played together. It was always a risky move going into the league season with only two recognised strikers in the squad and unfortunately for Montella his gamble did not pay off.
Anything other than starting with Rossi up-front on his own will be a shock to the mass, and the diminutive Italy international will have to perform wonders if Viola are to get anything from the game against Juventus.
The former Villarreal star will come up against three of the finest defenders in the league in Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci who have 338, 275 and 215 performance scores, respectively. The trio have been integral in the clubs unbeaten start to the season and Chiellini’s dominance in their air and on the ground shows just what lies ahead for Fiorentina’s front man.
Fiorentina haven’t won at home since the opening day of the season and they will be luck to come away with anything from this game as Chiellini and Barzagli look to continue their domination of opposition strikers.
After Roma made it 8 wins from 8 on Friday evening with an imposing victory over 2nd place Napoli – Juventus supporters will be hoping they can keep the pressure on Rudi Garcia’s men by recording their 5thwin in succession.