Fiorentina-Bologna is a Serie A Week 21 match played on Sunday at 18:00: odds, predictions, TV and streaming
Aware that it will be very difficult to reach it through the league, Fiorentina are trying to create an alternative way to play in Europe again next year.
It is for this reason that Vincenzo Italiano’s Viola intend to give the Coppa Italia its due importance: during the week they avenged the recent championship defeat by beating Torino 2-1 and earned the pass for the second consecutive semi-final. But this time they will not face Juventus as they did last year, but Cremonese, who have a very good chance of going on to play in the final scheduled at the Stadio Olimpico in May. In the meantime, there have been two useful results in a row, a balm for the Sicilian-born coach after the two defeats against Roma and Torino, which had once again caused the public to make noise. Last Sunday, Fiorentina emerged unscathed from the match against Lazio (1-1), one of its historical black beasts, and even came close to a success that would have been deserved in light of what they showed. The attack gave important signals after being dry for 180 minutes. Gonzalez confirmed himself as a key player, and in the cup there were also rings from Jovic and Ikoné, two from whom Italians expect much more.
Bologna healthy
Looking ahead to the Conference League play-off against Braga, the Tuscans have an obligation to try and improve a ranking that currently sees them 12th, -5 from seventh place.
Orsolini and Posch
The chance to get back to winning ways in the league comes in the Apennine derby against Thiago Motta’s Bologna, who have two points more than Fiorentina. The Felsini have regained goals and points after the double defeat against Roma and Atalanta, opening a positive mini-stripe that has been going on for three days, interrupted only by the elimination from the Coppa Italia against Lazio. In the last round the Rossoblù beat Spezia, the Italian-Brazilian coach’s old team, 2-0 thanks to the goleador defender Posch and Orsolini. Salvation, in short, already seems to be in the bag. And in this second half of the season it will be clear if Motta is the right man to make Bologna make the leap in quality they have been waiting for for many, too many years.
Fiorentina-Bologna: the latest line-up news
Italiano is thinking of a minimum turnover, especially for those players who played the full 90 minutes with Torino in the Coppa Italia. Dodo and Milenkovic could remain on the bench in favour of Martinez Quarta and Venuti, while in midfield there might not be Amrabat, at the centre of market rumours on the last day of the winter window: against the Granata the Moroccan injured his face and is in doubt. In case he doesn’t make it, Mandragora is ready.
Many absences instead for Motta, who in addition to the scorer Arnautovic must do without the various Sansone, De Silvestri, Medel and Bonifazi. On the left flank, Cambiaso should get the better of Lykogiannis and new arrival Kyriakopoulos, while Orsolini, Ferguson and Soriano will act in the three-quarter. Former Bayern Munich man Zirkzee will be the front man.
The Prediction
In the first leg Fiorentina lost again to Bologna after going unbeaten for seventeen matches in a row. The ‘Franchi’, on the other hand, has in recent years often been a hostile venue for the Rossoblù, who have not won in the Viola stadium for 11 matches. With the 4-3-3 return, Italiano’s team seems to have regained some certainty, but the Gigliati remain inconsistent and cannot be trusted with closed eyes, especially in the challenge against a healthy opponent like Bologna. Fiorentina should still manage to avoid defeat, in a match on which the fact that the Viola played in the cup will weigh heavily. There is a good chance that the visitors will also score at least one goal.
The Fiorentina-Bologna matchday squad
- FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Terracciano; Dodò, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Mandragora, Barak; Ikoné, Jovic, Gonzalez.
- BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumì, Lykogiannis; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Soriano; Zirkzee.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
