Serie A Preview: Fiorentina vs Inter – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio Artemio Franchi sets the stage for a handsomely-looking Serie A top-four six-pointer between high-flying Fiorentina and title-defending Inter. Level on points ahead of the kick-off, both teams head into Sunday’s fixture in Florence in good spirits after emerging victorious from their European ties during midweek.

Fiorentina got the better of Paphos on Thursday, fortifying their quest to secure automatic knockout qualification in the UEFA Europa Conference League. It was the Tuscan outfit’s third win in four league-phase outings and tenth across their last 11 games in all competitions, testifying to the team’s incredible surge under Raffaele Palladino’s stewardship.

Back to their domestic commitments, the hosts are vying for their eighth consecutive Serie A win. Despite the magnitude of the task awaiting Fiorentina on Sunday, they are in good shape to achieve a feat they last accomplished in 1960 and, in turn, reaffirm their Scudetto credentials amid a superb league start.

Meanwhile, Inter maintained their rich vein of form with another narrow win in the UEFA Champions League. Castello Lukeba’s own goal midway through the first half inspired the Nerazzurri to a hard-earned 1-0 home triumph against RB Leipzig, mirroring their matchday-four success against Arsenal.

As a result, Simone Inzaghi’s side ended round five only two points adrift of table-topping Liverpool after posting their fourth consecutive league-phase victory following a scoreless draw at Manchester City on day one. Beating Leipzig saw Inter extend their formidable run across all competitions to 12 unbeaten matches straight (W10, D2).

Match Preview

Fiorentina

Standing on the brink of a historic milestone, Fiorentina must defy their recent woes in this fixture to enter the Serie A win column for the eighth time on the trot. Indeed, Palladino’s charges have only pulled off one victory across their last 14 top-flight encounters against Inter (D5, L8), most recently dispatching them 1-0 at Giuseppe Meazza in April 2023.

However, you’d need to return to April 2017 for La Viola’s last home league triumph against the Nerazzurri. Since that memorable 5-4 thriller, back-to-back Conference League finalists have suffered defeat in four of their last six Serie A showdowns at Artemio Franchi (D2), meaning they must cope with a substantial psychological disadvantage.

On the bright side, Artemio Franchi has been a fortress this term. Fiorentina have strung together an eye-catching six-match winning streak on home turf in the build-up to this contest, noticeably bagging 2+ goals on five occasions. Against this backdrop, they’ve lost their last four home league meetings with Inter, netting one goal or fewer in three.

Inter

In addition to overseeing ten wins across Inter’s last 12 competitive outings, Inzaghi has tightened up his team’s defensive vulnerabilities following a leaky start to their Scudetto-defending campaign. Indeed, after conceding nine goals in their first seven league matches, Inzaghi’s lads have registered a clean sheet in four of their last six.

Except for a goal-glutted 4-4 home draw against arch-rivals Juventus toward the end of October, Inter have proved a tough nut to crack, racking up eight shutouts during their 12-game unbeaten streak. Buoyed by this purple patch, they leave the comforts of their iconic Giuseppe Meazza, seeking a sixth consecutive away win.

Extending that imperious road form would see Inter make Serie A history by becoming the first team to beat Fiorentina in five consecutive top-flight fixtures in Tuscany. However, Inzaghi must address his team’s notorious lapses of concentration down the game’s final stretches, with six of the 14 league goals they’ve conceded this term coming beyond the 80th minute.

Team News

Fiorentina captain Christian Biraghi and talented midfielder Amir Richardson are unavailable for selection. However, Palladino could welcome Icelandic superstar Albert Gudmundsson back to the fold after several weeks. Furthermore, David de Gea and Yacine Adli have shrugged off minor fitness problems to make the matchday squad.

On the other hand, Inter will take this trip without French defender Benjamin Pavard, with Yann Bisseck in pole position to replace the former Bayern Munich ace in the starting XI. Francesco Acerbi and Davide Frattesi skipped Tuesday’s home clash against Leipzig but could be on the bench on Sunday after overcoming minor injury setbacks.

Fiorentina vs Inter Potential Starting Line-ups

Fiorentina (4-3-2-1): De Gea; Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Cataldi, Bove; Colpani, Gudmundsson; Kean.

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.

Fiorentina vs Inter Prediction

Fiorentina could be both Milan clubs at home in less than two months. However, putting the Nerazzurri to the sword could be a tall order, regardless of their scintillating performance against the Rossoneri in early October.

Inter ran riot on their last Serie A travel, thrashing a lowly Hellas Verona 5-0 at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi a week ago. While it’s nearly impossible to back them to replicate that emphatic performance in Florence, we still believe they’ll return home with three points.