Fiorentina will be hoping they can record their second win of the season when they host Sassuolo at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Wednesday night.
The two teams have only met twice in Serie A; both earning one win apiece on the road. In fact, last years corresponding fixture served up one of the games of the season after the Neroverdi earned a stunning 4-3 victory in Florence.
Vicenzo Montella’s side have made a sluggish start to their Serie A campaign and relief was the operative word when Jasmin Kurtic handed the Tuscan’s a 1-0 victory away to Atalanta last Sunday.
Having mustered just one point from their opening two games, it was the Viola’s first win of the season and their early travails have been exemplified by their struggle to score goals. Indeed, Kurtic’s strike was Fiorentina’s first of the season and this has in part been due to key absentees, none more so than the injury blighted, Giuseppe Rossi.
However, Montella will be confident that if his side can maintain the defensive solidity they displayed against Atalanta, then goals may be easier to come by when they host winless Sassuolo.
The Emilian’s have the worst defensive record in Serie A, albeit seven of the eight goals they have conceded came during their capitulation away to Inter in week two.
Yet coach Eusebio Di Francesco will have been buoyed by his sides performance in their 0-0 draw against Sampdoria last Sunday. Prior to their humiliating 7-0 defeat in Milan, the Neroverdi had found the net in four consecutive away Serie A matches (winning three of them) and against a Fiorentina side struggling for confidence, Di Francesco may just fancy his sides chances of repeating last seasons heroics.
It would appear the forward role in Florence is cursed and the absence of Rossi will be accentuated by Mario Gomez’s latest injury. The German picked up a thigh problem in Bergamo and has been ruled out for three weeks. Youngsters, Khouma Babacar and Federico Bernadeschi, could be given a golden opportunity to impress while Montella will be hoping the likes of Josip Ilicic and Juan Cuadrado can make the injuries of Rossi and Gomez less keenly felt.
Di Francesco will be without veteran defender Thomas Manfredini through injury and last years talisman, Domenico Berardi, is suspended.
With Fiorentina on a streak of four home games without a win, the Viola faithful will be desperate to see their side build some momentum while Sassuolo will be hoping lightening can strike twice.
Expected Starting XIs
Fiorentina: Neto; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Savic, Pasqual; Kurtic, Pizarro, Valero; Cuadrado, Babacar, Ilicic
Sassuolo: Consigli; Vrsaljko, Antei, Cannavaro, Peluso; Biondini, Magnanelli, Taider; Floro Flores, Zaza, Sansone
