Early season strugglers Fiorentina square off with Atalanta on Thursday with both aiming to halt winless runs in the final fixture of this midweek Serie A round.
Match News and Current Form
Fiorentina came agonisingly close to a sensational upset on Sunday, leading 1-0 at defending champions Inter in the 90th minute before conceding twice in stoppage time to slump to a third consecutive defeat. Paolo Vanoli’s men are now winless in four outings (D1, L3) and are rooted inside the relegation zone after eight rounds, with this a second successive season in which they’ve posted just four points at this stage. An improvement appears unlikely here with La Viola without a league victory at Stadio Artemio Franchi since April (D4, L3).
Atalanta are enduring a similarly frustrating spell after being held to a spectacular 4-4 draw by Frosinone on Sunday, stretching their winless run across all competitions to three matches (D1, L2) and leaving them in the bottom half of the table. Maurizio Sarri’s men have won just one of their last six Serie A fixtures (D1, L4), while their ten-point return after eight rounds is La Dea’s lowest tally at this stage since 2018/19. While that campaign ultimately ended in a historic third-place finish - their joint-best in Serie A history - a dismal run of four consecutive away defeats in all competitions offers very little cause for optimism.
Head-to-Head History
Just one of the last 11 H2Hs was won by the away side on the day, while Fiorentina hold the upper hand having claimed seven victories across their last 13 meetings with Atalanta (D2, L4).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Fiorentina’s last six league matches saw both teams score.
Pre-round, only one side conceded more first half goals than Fiorentina (9) this term.
Atalanta are yet to score before the break on the road this Serie A season.
Atalanta have conceded at least twice in six of their last eight away fixtures.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Fiorentina’s Álex Jiménez has discovered an attacking edge in recent weeks, contributing to four goals across his last six appearances (G2, A2), though just one of his last five club scoring appearances ended in victory (D3, L1). In-form Atalanta striker Nikola Krstović has done most of his damage early, scoring five of his last six goals for club or country prior to the break, including a first-half brace against Frosinone on Sunday.
Fiorentina lost Marin Pongračić to injury during their clash with Inter, while Atalanta have fitness concerns of their own after Raoul Bellanova was also forced off at the weekend.
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Betting Analysis
Both sides are desperate for all three points, yet with neither defence looking reliable, backing over 3.5 goals stands out as an appealing play.
Author: Tomáš Vlasák