Roma and Napoli will play one another.
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But coach Rudi Garcia has given the misfiring striker his backing.
He was then due to start against BATE, only to be scratched from the starting line-up and replaced by Juan Iturbe after feeling a twinge during the warm-up.
Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, we’ll have a match thread live here for discussion of the game at hand. It’d be a whole different story had we got those. Juventus are sixth, six points behind Inter following a disastrous start to their title defence. The last match in which Fiorentina kept a clean sheet was back in November 1981 (0-0). “We have to recover quickly”.
They are all trying to keep up the pressure on leader Inter Milan, which could be four points clear after its match at struggling Udinese on Saturday.
A solid defensive performance earned Roma only its third clean sheet in the league this season and prevented Serie A’s leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain from finding the net for a ninth consecutive home match – and breaking Diego Maradona’s club record.
He is at the top of the scoring charts, with four more goals than his nearest challengers, Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic and Sampdoria striker Eder.
There has been ideal balance over the last 12 Serie A meetings between these two sides: five wins apiece and two draws.
Barring the 2-2 draw with Sampdoria on 31st August, Napoli have won all their home matches in the Serie A this season, recording victories over Juventus, Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Lazio in the process.
The 45-year-old returns to Turin where he made over 50 Serie A appearances for the Old Lady as a player and is well aware of the club’s major strengths. The two teams are at the top of the table and in the mix for contending to win the scudetto.
I’m going to take the draw here, while I think Napoli are a quality team and at home are deserved favourites I just think this Roma team are very hard to beat and I think they will play a defensively minded game to stay competitive here.
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The fans hate Juventus so much that when Roberto Baggio was sold to the Bianconeri in 1990, there was rioting in Florence with Fiorentina fans laying siege to the club’s headquarters for three days and more than 50 people injured. “We’re taking it one game at a time though, we still haven’t done anything”.
