Fiorentina – Juventus

Fiorentina hosts Juventus in one of the most interesting games of the 19th round of the Italian Serie A. The game will be played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the beautiful city of Florence.

Far from surprising, the reigning champion Juventus is once again leading the standings in the Serie A. Max Allegri’s team is four points ahead of Roma, but the Old Lady also have a game in hand.

Their next rival Fiorentina is currently 9th in the standings, but also having a game in hand.

Since surprisingly losing against Genoa, Juventus won four in a row and once again kept their first position in the standings. For now the reigning champions are looking as a heavy favourite for just another title, but they still have teams like Roma and Napoli aiming to overtake them at the top.

Fiorentina on the other hand are not really defending their ambitions for european qualification this season. Paulo Sousa’s team is 8 points away from the last Europa League spot, so they need to start winning points as soon as possible, if they want to be in Europe next season.

The Brazilian international Daniel Alves is still recovering from a broken leg, so he won’t be avaliable for selection. Stephan Lichtsteiner is suspended for the game, while Alex Sandro and Rolando Mandragora are doubtful because of injuries.

Fiorentina’s manager Paulo Sousa still doesn’t know if he can use the central defender Davide Astori, who is still recovering from his last injury.

If we take into account not just overall quality, but also a current form, Juventus are the heavy favourite to win this game. The Old Lady won all of its last four games in the Serie A, while Fiorentina lost two of its last three and didn’t win neither one.