Date & Kick-Off: Sunday, 20th March; 11:30 (GMT)
TV Coverage: ESPN
Roma won three and lost none of their last four domestic matches although were humbled by Skahktar Donetsk in a UEFA Champions League Last-16 tie recently, going down 6-2 to the Ukrainian champions.
Fiorentina are unbeaten in four games in Serie A – two wins and two draws – and have also lost only one of their previous ten league matches at their Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence.
Nor Fiorentina (2.50 WilliamHill) or Roma (3.25 VictorChandler) have enjoyed campaigns that will live long in the memory, with consistency a key area both managers need to focus on in the near future. To their credit, they have done just that in recent weeks, and now both teams will clash in Florence with a tonne of momentum behind them.
I cannot help but give a tenative vote to Fiorentina, the hosts who are formidable on home soil – having lost only one of their last ten Serie A matches in Florence and just three all season – and who are aiming to chalk up their third straight win on Sunday. Roma, meanwhile, while they are unbeaten in their last four league fixtures, the same amount as their opponents, were recently dumped out of the Champions League with aplomb.
A resounding 6-2 defeat on aggregate to Ukrainian title-holders Shakhtar meant Roma bowed out of Europe for another season with a whimper, humiliated you might even say, although their response to such an embarrassing and demoralising result was admirable. The Giallorossi, who are currently sixth in the table but five points adrift of the Champions League places (top-four), recorded a massive 2-0 win at home over city rivals Lazio last weekend in a match where their top-four hopes were ignited courtesy of Francesco Totti’s two-goal haul.
Europe is also the target for Viola, who are nine-points adrift of Roma, whom occupy the last of two Europa League qualifying berths. Their resurgence in form under Sinisa Mihaljovic means they haven’t quite given up hope of a return to the European stage, with Fiorentina not only without defeat in their last four – losing only one of their last eight – they have also conceded just one goal in four games and with Adrian Mutu’s return to the squad adding another dimension to their attack, they’ll fancy their chances up against a Roma side who have shipped a miserly three in the same period but conceded on average nearly two-goals-per-away-game in Serie A this season.
This should be an evenly-fought contest, however it should also be thoroughly entertaining as two in-form teams tussle in Florence. Two of the previous three meetings at Artemio Franchi have produced several goals – the clash in Rome earlier in the season ended 3-2 to the Romans – while four of the last seven have ended in a draw.
Betting Tip: Draw @ 3.20 PaddyPower
Other Selections:
Both Teams to Score @ 1.83 Coral
Over 3.5 Goals @ 4.00 SportingBet
