Serie A: Juve and La Viola in a Euro Six-Pointer

Juventus vs Fiorentina

All roads lead to Turin on Sunday where the Serie A match between Juventus and Fiorentina is a battle between two clubs just off the title pace, but right in the thick of the race for Champions League places.

It’s sixth versus fifth. Both teams are on 31 points and nine behind leaders Atalanta, with La Viola having a game in hand. It is the Old Lady who was touted as a potential Scudetto winner, and the dream is not yet gone, but a win over Fiorentina is a must if she is to stay in the running. The visitors had a superb start to the campaign but have faded a little, with two defeats over the last fortnight, and a third would see them fall further behind.       

Last time out, Thiago Motta’s Juventus picked up all three points with a 2-1 win away to Monza, while Raffaele Palladino’s Fiorentina suffered defeat by the same scoreline at home to Udinese.    

So who is going to be full of festive cheer on Sunday, and who will be suffering a Christmas hangover? Let’s look at the SBOTOP pick of the players who we think can dominate the Serie A 2024 highlights.

 

Talking Points

Vlahovic has the eye of the tiger  

Juventus have raided Florence for some big stars in recent seasons, and none more so than Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic, who moved from Florence to Turin in a deal worth €70 million after scoring 44 goals in 98 appearances for La Viola. He’s had an almost identical ratio in his time at Juventus, scoring 40 in 90 games, and he became the second youngest non-Italian, after Alexandre Pato, to score 50 Serie A goals, and Vlahovic bagged the winner in the 2024 Coppa Italia final victory over Atalanta.  

Still only 24, Vlahovic has his best years ahead of him, but he has already shown what a fine player he is, with equal measure of strength, pace, and flair, the perfect combination for a top striker. And he is not short of passion either, visibly annoyed when he was substituted in the 85^th minute of the win over Monza, maybe angry that he hadn’t scored or made an assist, and he’ll be desperate to add to his seven league goals on Sunday. He’s scored three goals in his last five matches, and Vlahovic has La Viola in his sights. 

Other players too look out for in the Black and White include Kenan Yildiz, the 19-year-old Turkish winger, who took Europe by storm in the summer, and the versatile attacking midfielder Weston McKennie, who scored the opener against Monza while Nico Gonzalez, on loan from Fiorentina, scored the second. Watch out too for defender Federico Gatti, a strong tackler who is also a goal threat from set pieces.      

 

Moise is Kean to make his point

There are plenty of big-name players who have made the switch from Florence to Turin, but one star who has successfully made the move in the opposite direction is La Viola’s 24-year-old striker Moise Kean.

He struggled in his time at Juventus, scoring just once in 24 appearances, many of them from the bench, and he signed for Fiorentina in a deal worth €13 million which could rise to €18 million. That fee looks like a bargain already, as Kean has scored 10 goals in 16 appearances to put himself in third place in the race for the Capocannoniere, two goals behind Mateo Retegui and Marcus Thuram.  

He scored his 10^th goal of the season to put Fiorentina ahead against Udinese, and La Viola held the lead until half time. But, while Kean and Argentine forward Lucas Beltran have had plenty of success stretching defences, La Viola have been missing the strong presence of Edoardo Bove in midfield. He is recovering well from a collapse during a match against Inter Milan at the beginning of the month and will hopefully be back in action soon. In the meantime Danilo Cataldi, on loan from Lazio, is filling the void.     

 

History

With 36 wins to nine in all competitions since 1994, the Old Lady has bossed this relationship, and she has won the last three, all by a 1-0 scoreline, the last in April in Turin as defender Gatti scored the first half winner.  

With three wins and three draws from the last six games, Juventus have found a level of consistency which has evaded La Viola in recent weeks with two wins, one draw, and three defeats from their last six.

But while undefeated at home, I Bianconeri have struggled to turn draws into victories with three wins and six draws at the Allianz Stadium.    

 

Betting Tip

We can make a decent case for a draw at 3.06 and maybe even an away win at 3.52, but the pre-match Serie A 2024 betting odds back a home win, and that’s where I’m heading. Home advantage and better recent form will favour the Old Lady and, for a correct scoreline, yet another 1-0 Juve win is at odds of 5.80. 

   

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