Serie A: Juve take Domestic Advantage to Florence

Fiorentina vs Juventus

Sixth versus second makes this the must-watch Serie A contest of the weekend.

Juventus – without European football this term – have a distinct advantage on all their major domestic competitors as they focus purely on becoming top dogs of Italian football, a position they held for largely a decade until a few years ago.

But Fiorentina, who have so often fallen short in the big matches, are proving some doubters wrong and currently lie ahead of the likes of Roma and Lazio in the table.

The question is though, can they finally produce their own Serie A highlights to defeat a big boy?

Talking Points

History suggests not.

Their only meeting against the established top sides so far this term resulted in a 4-0 hammering at champions Inter Milan in September.

And, of course, remember, this is the side which fell at the final hurdle in the Europa Conference last term.

Now it would be harsh to criticise them for the club from beautiful Florence has constantly struggled to hold onto its best players.

Only a few years ago, shortly after delivering one of its most memorable victories in Turin against Juve, was a case in point.

Dusan Vlahovic scored the opener in a 3-0 win at Turin that night and he ended the season with 21 goals and the award for best young player in Serie A.

By December 2021, Vlahovic had scored his 33rd league goal of the calendar year, becoming the only player, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in 2020, to do so since 1951.

He was also the only player in Europe’s top-five leagues born after 2000, alongside Erling Haaland, to have scored at least 40 goals in Europe’s top-five leagues.

The inevitable happened and a move to Juventus followed in January 2022.

The Serbian started this season well, netting four goals in four games, but things have taken a downward turn since then and he has not scored in his last four outings.

With him not proving to be the deadly striker he appeared to be in Florence, perhaps it’s a salutary lesson that the grass isn’t always greener.

Yet Vlahovic’s presence in Max Allegri’s squad merely shows the difference in depth between the two clubs.

This weekend he is unlikely to start on his old stomping ground, although one man who surely will is Polish international Arkadiusz Milik and Federico Chiesa.

Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli remain suspended for Juventus, with Timothy Weah, Danilo and Alex Sandro not expected to be back in action until late November.

Fiorentina’s injury list is showing signs of improvement, with Yerry Mina and Michael Kayode both closing in on a first-team return this month. There will likely be some changes from last weekend’s -0 defeat to Lazio, with Luca Ranieri and Rolando Mandragora set to come back in.

History

These two met for the very first time in the 1931/32 season. Since then, they have met numerous times with Juve tasting victory on 86 occasions, 58 draws and 36 Fiorentina wins.

Of their 180 clashes, all bar 10 have come in Serie A with the others in the Coppa Italia (eight times) and the UEFA Cup/Europa League (four times).

Last season this match finished 1-1 as Milik and Christian Kouame traded first half goals.

Adrien Rabiot scored the only goal in favour of the hosts in the match in Turin.

Fiorentina have not lost to Juventus at home in the league since December 2018.

Betting Tip

Juventus have the edge with the SBOTOP Serie A betting odds but it’s mighty close.

The ‘old lady’ of Turin can be backed 1X2 @ 2.45 and Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 2.19.

That contrasts slightly with Viola who are on offer 1X2 @ 2.75 and Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 2.42.

If you are going to opt for honours even, the 1X2 Draw will pay out @ 3.05.

A repeat of last season’s 1-1 draw is also available @ 5.20.

How about goals then – and plenty of them?

If that grabs your attention, then total goal 4-6 @ 3.90 and over 2.75 @ 2.38 differ from total goal 2-3 @ 1.90, while a low scoring affair will earn you a tidy amount, given total goal 0-1 shows odds of @ 3.05.

I do think Fiorentina will make life difficult for their illustrious visitors but they are struggling to keep clean sheets and I don’t think they will have quite enough against a side which has only lost once so far this campaign.

 

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