Serie A Champs Head to Renaissance City of Florence

Fiorentina vs Inter Milan

It’s tight at the top of Serie A.

So tight in fact that the top five are separated by a solitary point.

Two of the four clubs locked on 28 points (Napoli are the leaders on 29) lock horns this Sunday teatime in Florence in what is undoubtedly the game of the weekend.

And putting all potential Serie A highlights aside from two sides in a rich vein of form, something has to give.

 

Talking Points 

There’s no doubt champions Inter Milan set down a marker last weekend – hitting five goals without reply at lowly Hellas Verona.

The Nerazzurri ripped their hosts apart in a blistering 45 minutes to fully justify their status as title favourites, a victory made even more impressive given that Simone Inzaghi’s team were without their captain and senior striker Lautaro Martinez who was being rested after international duty.

Marcus Thuram stepped up again as he bagged a quick-fire brace to move up to nine goals from 13 games.

Their record since a remarkable eight goal thriller in the Derby d’Italia last month reads played six, won five, drawn one, scored 12, conceded one.

A 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig on Tuesday night also moved them a step closer to the last 16 of the Champions League, their only sour note being an injury to Benjamin Pavard.

That success means the club have won four games in a row in the competition for the first time since 2010 under Jose Mourinho – the last time they won the trophy.

Indeed, Inter are the only side in the Champions League who have not conceded a single goal so far, holding Manchester City 0-0 in the opening fixture, then winning five in a row.

Yet their hosts this weekend are also in fine form.

Last weekend Fiorentina sealed a seventh straight league win with a 2-0 success over Como which kept them level on points with Inter and Atalanta.

Only once before – back in 1960 – has the Viola achieved such a run in the Italian top-flight.

Two of their stars so far have been former Premier League men.

Goalkeeper David De Gea has been essential. De Gea collected his fifth clean sheet against Como, more than any other goalkeeper has managed since he made his league debut in mid-September.

Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance, has actually become a city where footballing careers are reborn.

Because if De Gea’s form has been impressive, so too has that of Moise Kean – who failed to score once in 20 games at Juventus last season but managed his 12th goal in 15 outings for Fiorentina on Sunday.

Throughout the team, there are stories like this.

The left-back Robin Gosens, who joined the club on deadline day on loan from Union Berlin, has played so well that he won back his place for the German national team after a full year without being selected.

Another loanee, Edoardo Bove – a graduate of the Roma academy who earned the nickname “sick dog” from Mourinho while struggling to establish himself with the first team – scored a brilliant goal in last month’s 5-1 demolition of his parent club.

Their collective improvement – together with the emergence of new players, such as the 19-year-old centre-back Pietro Comuzzo – owes much to the flexibility of coach Raffaele Palladino.

Now for what, one suspects, will be his and his team’s biggest test to date.

 

History

This has been a game which has produced some classics in recent years.

I remember in 2019 when the sides played out a 3-3 draw in Serie A when a first minute own goal gave the hosts the lead. Inter then fought back to lead 3-1 through Matias Vecino, Matteo Politano and Ivan Perisic before Luis Muriel and a last minute Jordan Veretout penalty left the Florence fans happy.

Two years earlier, Fiorentina edged a nine-goal thriller in front of their own fans – doubles from Vecino, Khoumar Babacar and a header from the late skipper Davide Astori sealed a 5-4 win.

They were well in the ascendancy until two goals in the final three minutes from Mauro Icardi completed his hat-trick and brought Inter back to within a goal.

What was only the Viola’s second success over Inter in their last 18 meetings came two seasons ago when Giacomo Bonaventura headed the only goal of the contest eight minutes after the restart to seal a fine win the San Siro.

The same season, Inter tasted victory in the Coppa Italia Final with a 2-1 success, as Nicolas Gonzalez’s opener was cancelled out by a Martinez double.

Last season, both enounters went the way of the Italian champions.

A 4-0 triumph in September came courtesy of another Martinez brace, France forward Thuram’s first goal for Inter and a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty.

Then in Florence in January, Martinez was again the main man with the only goal of the contest after 14 minutes.

Overall, Inter have 73 league victories against Fiorentina who have won on 45 occasions with a further 54 draws.

 

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Serie A betting odds naturally back Inter who should be fresher than the home team who will be in Europa Conference combat on Thursday night.

I think the champs will edge it by the odd goal in three.

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.