AS Roma vs Fiorentina
Fourth meets sixth at Stadio Olimpico as AS Roma are slated to host Fiorentina on Sunday night, although there’s a possibility that their positions will be interchanged when the 15th matchday of the 2023-24 Serie A campaign is all said and done.
Right now, the hosts have the upper hand because they have improved to fourth place after a positive run of Serie A 2023 results. But with 24 points, they are level with fifth-seeded Napoli, whose title defence is falling apart.
Fiorentina, on the other hand, are in sixth place with 23 points. They are slowly climbing up to the top four with two wins in their last three games.
Neither are considered contenders for the Scudetto this season, so getting into the top four is the main objective for these two sides since it means Champions League football for them next term.
Talking Points
Dybala back at his best
In the last four matchdays, Paulo Dybala has now contributed to five of the last seven goals scored by AS Roma (two goals and three assists), putting him at four goals and five assists in 10 league appearances this season, good for third in the team’s scoring charts.
Against Sassuolo on Monday, Dybala managed to score the equaliser via a penalty kick for AS Roma after trailing by one goal for the most part. And their comeback effort was complete when Rasmus Kristensen came off the bench to score the winning goal six minutes later for the 2-1 win.
Dybala has rediscovered his form after hitting a rough patch, which is a welcome development for Jose Mourinho and co. Prior to the last four matchdays, the 30-year-old’s campaign has been blighted by injuries and a couple of unconvincing performances.
Before this, there were fears that Dybala might not play until January because he injured his knee during their 4-1 victory over Cagliari last October. But since Dybala’s back, the hope is that he’ll stay healthy because the Giallorossi need him for their top four run.
Dybala will link up with Romelu Lukaku up front in Mourinho’s 3-5-2 formation once again, which makes for a potent frontline. Lukaku is actually the team’s leading scorer, with 10 goals this term.
Gonzalez might not be available for Fiorentina
La Viola are considered top four contenders primarily because of the attacking partnership of Nicolas Gonzalez and Giacomo Bonaventura. Which is why Fiorentina supporters are sweating over the fitness of Nicolas Gonzalez because he’s their leading scorer with nine goals and two assists this year.
The 25-year-old striker suffered a muscular injury against Genk and was not in the squad against Salernitana and Parma in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 yesterday, and the team listed him as doubtful to play on Sunday evening.
Should Gonzalez ultimately sit this one out, head coach Vincenzo Italiano will choose between Lucas Beltran, Ricardo Sottil, or M’Bala Nzola to take his place up front.
Out of the three, Nzola and Sottil will likely start since they scored the big goals in yesterday’s tiff against Parma, though Beltran already has three goals.
History
AS Roma have lost two of their last three Serie A matches against Fiorentina (W1) under Jose Mourinho, which is as many defeats as they had in their previous 19 games against them in the Italian top-flight (W14, D3).
Fiorentina beat AS Roma in their meeting last May, as Luka Jovic and Jonathan Ikone completed a 2-1 comeback victory at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
If AS Roma loses on Sunday, that would mark the first time that they’ve lost back-to-back against Fiorentina in Serie A for the first time since April 2012 under Luis Enrique.
And there has only been one clean sheet in the last 30 Serie A matches between AS Roma and Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico, which was a 2-0 victory by La Viola in April 2018.
Betting Tip
The Serie A 2023 odds have AS Roma winning this game. The Giallorossi are at 2.11 odds to win, whereas a win for Fiorentina is not far behind at 3.32, and a draw is at 3.07 in the 1X2 market.
If Nicolas Gonzalez won’t play on Sunday, La Viola will be lacking firepower up front, and that will swing the momentum in AS Roma’s favour.
Other than our recommended bet above, Total Goal 2-3 at 1.93 and Over 2.50 at 2.20 are alternatives to consider since we expect several goals from this match to entertain SBOTOP football fans.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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