Many people were tipping Roma as winners of Serie A this season, particularly as Juventus lost their manager Antonio Conte at the beginning of the season. They were in contention for the first half of the season but they have fallen away dramatically since the turn of the year and now find themselves 14 points behind the leaders. Their domestic form has seen them win just one league game in their last 10. Admittedly, they have only lost one of those but the draws simply are not good enough when going for a title. It leaves them with a fight on their hands for a Champions League spot as the teams in behind close in.
After a very slow start which seen them lurking in the bottom half of the table, Fiorentina have motored since Christmas and now look capable of finishing in the top three. La Viola have lost just two of their 11 league games in 2015 and now sit four points of Lazio who occupy third. It’s not just their league form which has been very strong as they have already seen off Tottenham in the last 32 of this competition whilst they ended Juventus’ incredible home record with a 2-1 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final. Vincenzo Montella will be pleased with how his side have put themselves into contention in these competitions but having won plenty as player himself, he’ll be telling his team that the pressure is only just beginning.
Competing in the Europa League will be seen as something of a consolation for Roma following their exit from the Champions League. They were in a good position at one point but failed to get the job done and had to content themselves with third. Unfortunately for Rudi Garcia, their participation in that competition will be remembered for a humiliating 7-1 defeat at home to Bayern Munich. Their previous tie in the Europa seen them edge past Feyenoord. They ended up winning 3-2 on aggregate but could only manage a 1-1 draw at home.
As well as winning away to Juventus in the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina were responsible for knocking Roma out. They won impressively in Rome, 2-0. It’s been their away form that has been the most impressive aspect of their season to date, winning 12 of their 20 matches on their travels. They remain unbeaten away from home in this year’s Europa League having won all three of their group matches before drawing 1-1 with Spurs in London.
It is always interesting when two sides from the same league are drawn together in European competition. There was nothing between the clubs in the first leg which is probably not a huge surprise when you consider the teams involved. Both clubs have already beaten each other whilst they also drew in Florence in the league at the beginning of the season. That tells us that both are very evenly matched, further evidenced by the close proximity of the two in the league. Rather than side with another draw here, I think Fiorentina are on a better run of form and can take advantage of what looks like a vulnerable Roma team. Backing Fiorentina ‘double chance’ gives us the away win and the draw.
Fiorentina double chance 10/13 @ Winner
