Already separated by nine points in the Serie A standings, winless Fiorentina and high-flying Roma will clash at Stadio Franchi on Sunday.

While the Viola are still seeking their first league victory of the season, their capital-city counterparts are currently vying for top spot.

Match preview

So far, Stefano Pioli's return to Florence has not proved successful, with Fiorentina collecting just three points from five Serie A matches. 

Last week's Tuscan derby against Pisa brought more disappointment for fans of the Viola, as their side were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against newly promoted regional rivals.

Pioli's only wins to date have come in the Conference League - a competition that Fiorentina have begun to call their own, albeit without lifting the trophy.

Following a 6-2 aggregate success over Polissya Zhytomyr in the playoffs, they saw off Sigma Olomouc on Thursday evening, thanks to goals from Roberto Piccoli and Cher Ndour.

Now, they return to Italy's top flight, in which they last failed to win any of their first six games way back in 1977.

With no points at home so far, Fiorentina may hope to lean on a positive record against Roma, who they have beaten three times in the last four meetings at Stadio Franchi.

All told, Roma have won just one of the clubs' last five Serie A contests - though that was the most recent encounter, played in Rome at the start of May.

This time, they head to Tuscany aiming to build on an impressive start to the league season, the highlight of which was beating bitter rivals Lazio in the Derby della Capitale.

Gian Piero Gasperini's men then notched another win last weekend, when Artem Dovbyk and Matias Soule scored to defeat Hellas Verona, leaving them level on points with Napoli and new leaders AC Milan.

Since 'Gasp' started his Roman reign, the Giallorossi have won five games from seven while conceding just three times; however, one of those goals was against Lille in a bizarre Europa League clash on Thursday.

After trailing from the sixth minute, Roma seemed set to steal at least one point when they were awarded a late penalty, but despite being offered two re-takes, Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer made history by saving three consecutive spot-kicks - Dovbyk and Soule were the culprits.

Now, they must try to bounce back from a rare home defeat in UEFA's second-tier tournament, in their final fixture before the international break.

Fiorentina Serie A form:

D D L L D

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

W D L L D W

Roma Serie A form:

W W L W W

Roma form (all competitions):

W L W W W L

Team News

Fiorentina made some changes against Sigma in midweek, so Pioli is set to recall regular starters such as Moise Kean on Sunday.

The latter scored 19 league goals last season - and impressed on Italy duty last month - but he has failed to convert any of 17 shots in Serie A.

Nonetheless, Kean should displace veteran striker Edin Dzeko, with Piccoli and Albert Gudmundsson vying to join him up front.

While Tariq Lamptey and Christian Kouame are the hosts' only confirmed absentees, Roma are still missing Leon Bailey; Paulo Dybala could make the bench, though, after returning to full training.

Key players such as Gianluca Mancini and Manu Kone should return after being rested against Lille.

The Giallorossi's attacking trident will be led by either Evan Ferguson or Dovbyk, the latter of whom scored the winner against Fiorentina in May but missed successive spot kicks on Thursday evening.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Nicolussi Caviglia, Mandragora, Gosens; Fazzini; Gudmundsson, Kean

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Hermoso, Mancini, Ndicka; Wesley, Cristante, Kone, Tsimikas; Soule, Pellegrini; Dovbyk

We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Roma

Fiorentina will fail to get their first league win, but holding Roma to a draw still represents an acceptable result.

The Viola are not clicking in the final third, so scoring more than once against a tough visiting defence may prove too tall an order.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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