After a shaky start to life under their new manager, Juventus head into the weekend trying to restart their Serie A campaign when they travel to face bottom-placed Fiorentina at the Stadio Franchi. Photos of the players on their way to face Fiorentina were shared by the club via their official X handle.
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The mood around the club has been a little mixed, even though they recently ended their winless run in a 3-1 victory over Udinese. Despite that, Juve have still struggled to build real momentum, and their trip to Florence comes with plenty of nerves attached.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, entered the international break still without a league win, a poor run that led to Stefano Pioli’s dismissal, as reported by Softfootball.
Paolo Vanoli has stepped in, but his debut on the touchline didn’t change much, as the Viola again dropped points despite flashes of improvement. With tensions around the club rising and fans frustrated, the appointment hasn’t yet sparked the turnaround they desperately need.
Team News
For Fiorentina, Moise Kean coming back into training at least gives Vanoli a bit of fresh air up front, even though Kean hasn’t really found form in the league yet. He might still start, but the squad is pretty stretched.
Robin Gosens is out, and so are Christian Kouame and Tariq Lamptey, which leaves the coach juggling options, especially in wide roles they normally depend on. Roberto Piccoli, after scoring his first Serie A goal last time, is also in the frame to start beside Gudmundsson.
Juventus’ big concern is Dusan Vlahovic, who returned from international duty with a small adductor issue, but the feeling around the club is that he might still make it.
Spalletti, doesn’t have it easy either: even if Juan Cabal and Lloyd Kelly are back in full training, Bremer is still unavailable, and Daniele Rugani picked up a muscular problem that rules him out. So the backline is sort of patched together again.
If Vlahovic is cleared, he’ll be competing with Jonathan David and Lois Openda, which makes Juve’s attack look a bit more unpredictable in a good way.
Possible Lineups
Fiorentina (3-5-2):
De Gea; Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Nicolussi Caviglia, Sohm, Fortini; Gudmundsson, Kean
Juventus (3-4-2-1):
Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Koopmeiners; McKennie, Thuram, Locatelli, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; Vlahovic
Softfootball’s Prediction
Both teams come in with problems, and honestly nobody looks fully settled. But Juventus, even with all the bumps, seem like they’re slowly stitching some rhythm together. Fiorentina still look unsure under Vanoli, and that shaky defence could really cost them here again.
Prediction: Fiorentina 1–2 Juventus
