Fiorentina and Torino will kick off their respective 2020-21 Serie A campaigns with a clash at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday evening.
The home side finished 10th in Italy's top flight last season, while Torino ended the campaign in 16th, only five points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Fiorentina improved on their 16th-place finish from 2018-19 to claim 10th last season, but La Viola are some way off being the top-four side that they were between 2012 and 2015.
Giuseppe Iachini's record since taking charge last December has been impressive, though, winning nine of his 23 matches at the helm, suffering just six defeats.
The Purple One ended last season with back-to-back victories, while they have been in impressive form during pre-season, scoring five times in each of their three friendly encounters.
Fiorentina will certainly be looking to kick on this season, and they have spent money in this summer's window, completing permanent deals for Alfred Duncan, Pol Lirola and Christian Kouame.
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Torino, as mentioned, finished 16th in Serie A last season, which was actually their lowest final position since being relegated in 18th back in 2008-09.
The Turin outfit lost 20 of their 38 league games in 2019-20, recording just 11 wins in the process, as they finished just five points clear of the relegation zone.
The Maroons will be desperate to start their new season with a positive result, but they have only won one of their last seven Serie A matches against Fiorentina and lost 2-0 in the corresponding match last term.
Marco Giampaolo's side have been active during this summer's transfer window, with Karol Linetty, Mergim Vojvoda and Ricardo Rodriguez all arriving, while they have thus far managed to keep hold of key striker Andrea Belotti, who scored an impressive 22 goals in all competitions last season.
Fiorentina pre-season form: WWW
Torino pre-season form: WDL
Team News
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Borja Valero - back with Fiorentina for a second time following a summer move from Inter Milan - is expected to line up for the home side this weekend, while Lirola is also in line to debut at the back.
Franck Ribery missed a lot of football last season through injury, but the experienced attacker should feature in the starting XI for this match, joining Federico Chiesa in an attacking position.
Patrick Cutrone could be given the nod as the centre-forward, meanwhile, with new signing Kouame likely to start on the bench.
As for Torino, Belotti is expected to be joined in the final third by Simone Verdi and Simone Zaza, with Alex Berenguer and Rodriguez operating in the wing-back positions.
Linetty should also make his debut for the visitors in the middle of the park, although fellow new arrival Vojvoda, who largely operates as a right-back, is likely to start on the bench.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Milenkovic, Pezzella, Caceres; Lirola, Valero, Pulgar, Venuti; Chiesa, Cutrone, Ribery
Torino possible starting lineup:
Rosati; Izzo, Djidji, Bremer; Berenguer, Linetty, Rincon, Rodriguez; Zaza, Verdi, Belotti
We say: Fiorentina 2-1 Torino
Torino disappointed last season, but the Turin outfit still have a lot of quality in the final third of the field. We fancy the visitors to score on Saturday but expect Fiorentina to have too much over the course of the 90 minutes, backing the home side to start their campaign with a narrow win.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl
Matt Law
