Following a streak of three straight defeats, Fiorentina will aim to get their challenge for a top-four finish back on track when they host Serie A strugglers Lecce on Friday.
The Viola have slipped down the standings since toppling Inter Milan at the start of February, while their visitors have recently inched away from the drop zone.
Match preview
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Having both lost their last two matches, Fiorentina and relegation-threatened Hellas Verona met at Stadio Bentegodi on Sunday, with the away side widely expected to halt their downturn.
However, they not only conceded in second-half stoppage time to lose 1-0, but a worrying head injury suffered by star striker Moise Kean also made it a grim day for fans of the Viola.
Since a shock 3-0 defeat of reigning champions Inter earlier this month, Raffaele Palladino's side have taken nothing from their last three Serie A matches - the last time Fiorentina lost four in a row was back in 2019.
Having averaged 1.88 points and conceded 0.90 goals per game until the turn of the year, seven league games in 2025 have brought a reduced points average of 1.11 and their goals-against rate has risen to 1.40.
Yet, the Tuscan club are not out of the race for Champions League qualification, given they remain within seven points of fourth-placed Juventus with 12 games to go.
There is still silverware to play for, too, as a meeting with Panathinaikos awaits in the Conference League's last 16 - but first, they must try to get back to winning ways on the domestic front.
Aided by Danilo Cataldi's first top-flight brace, Fiorentina thumped Lecce 6-0 in this season's reverse fixture, so they can now aim to do a Serie A double over the Giallorossi for just the second time to date.
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Having been beaten on five of six prior visits to Stadio Franchi, Lecce have since lost just one of their last six, meaning that precedent is not completely against them.
However, they are the only team yet to score a single Serie A goal in February, following last week's 1-0 home defeat to Udinese.
After ending January with a 3-1 win over relegation rivals Parma, the Salentini posted consecutive goalless draws - versus Bologna and Monza - before being edged out at Via del Mare last Friday.
Sitting four points above the bottom three, Marco Giampaolo's men are far from securing safety - and their toothless attack remains a source of concern.
Lecce hold the worst goalscoring record in Italy's top flight, with scattergun striker Nikola Krstovic a particular culprit.
On seven league goals from 102 attempts, the Montenegrin has the biggest differential between shots and goals of any player across Europe's top five leagues this season - and his fellow forwards have also failed to chip in on a regular basis.
Team News
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Having been assessed in hospital, Moise Kean was soon released after his horrific clash with Verona's Pawel Dawidowicz, but a deep eyebrow wound means he will not feature on Friday - Lucas Beltran or Nicolo Zaniolo could stand in.
Fiorentina will also be missing Yacine Adli, Albert Gudmundsson and Andrea Colpani through injury, while Michael Folorunsho is a doubt; Amir Richardson must serve a suspension for accumulated bookings.
In better news for Raffaele Palladino, Robin Gosens now returns after a one-match ban, so Fabiano Parisi should drop down to the bench.
Only long-term absentees Filip Marchwinski and Joan Gonzalez are certainly sidelined for Lecce, but Thorir Helgason is still struggling with a muscular strain and may also miss out.
Usually supported by Tete Morente, the Giallorossi's top scorer Nikola Krstovic netted his first-ever Serie A goal at Stadio Franchi in August 2023; with seven strikes on the board this season, he needs just one more to surpass last term's total.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Comuzzo, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Cataldi, Mandragora, Ndour, Gosens; Zaniolo, Beltran
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Jean, Gallo; Pierret, Coulibaly; Morente, Rafia, Karlsson; Krstovic
We say: Fiorentina 2-0 Lecce
Although Fiorentina have recorded only eight more shots than Lecce in Serie A this season, the Viola have a good conversion rate of 13.2% - the third-highest throughout Italy's top flight - and their visitors (5.9%) have the worst.
The Salentini rarely travel well either, so the hosts should prevail and put a stop to their slump.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
