With the home side fighting for survival and their visitors vying for a return to Europe, Venezia will welcome Fiorentina to Stadio Penzo on Monday.
Draw specialists, the Lagunari are stuck inside Serie A's drop zone with three games to play; meanwhile, the Viola sit ninth and have just been hit by more Conference League disappointment.
Match preview
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Aiming to reach their third straight final, Fiorentina needed to overturn a one-goal deficit when hosting Real Betis for Thursday's Conference League semi-final decider, after their Spanish counterparts had won the first leg 2-1 in Seville.
Despite going 3-1 down, the Viola then battled back via a headed brace by Robin Gosens, taking the tie into extra time. However, they conceded again at Stadio Franchi, ultimately coming up short in their latest quest for a trophy.
Raffaele Palladino's men must quickly absorb that frustration, as their next three games will decide whether they return to European competition next term.
They had previously put together an unbeaten sequence of six league games, but last week's 1-0 reverse to Roma leaves them trailing behind Juventus, AC Milan, Bologna and both Rome clubs in the standings.
Having lost six of their last 10 away games in Serie A, a fixture list featuring trips to Venice and Udine will put them to the test, either side of a home Derby dell'Appennino against Bologna.
Held to a goalless draw by Venezia in this season's reverse fixture, Fiorentina surely cannot afford a repeat result on Monday, as maximum points will be required to stay in the race.
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Historically, Fiorentina are the team that Venezia have won most home games against in Serie A - eight out of 13 to date, including each of the last four.
Fans of the Lagunari will hope such precedent stands their side in good stead for this latest clash, with the long fight for top-flight survival now reaching its end.
Promoted as Serie B playoff winners last spring, Eusebio Di Francesco's men have been consigned to the drop zone for most of the season - but they can still avoid relegation with a sprint finish.
Following last week's 1-1 stalemate with Torino, the Arancioneroverdi have drawn 10 times in 2025, inching them closer to escaping the bottom three.
With Monza already doomed, they seem to be scrapping with Empoli and Lecce to finish in 17th place, so two remaining home games - against Fiorentina and Juventus - could prove pivotal.
All four of Venezia's league victories have come at Stadio Penzo - most recently in April, against Monza - and they desperately need at least one more if they are to stay up.
Team News
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Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino will be without both Nicolo Zaniolo - suspended for his red card against former club Roma - and Danilo Cataldi, who is still struggling with a thigh injury.
Furthermore, top scorer Moise Kean was forced off at the end of Thursday's Conference League exit to Betis, so Lucas Beltran is set to partner Albert Gudmundsson up front.
In better news for Palladino - who has just signed a new contract - Pablo Mari can return to the back three, having been omitted from the Viola's UEFA squad list, while Brazilian wing-back Dodo completed his comeback from appendix surgery in under a fortnight.
Venezia recently welcomed back former first-choice goalkeeper Filip Stankovic, but Andrei Radu has impressed while deputising between the posts and is set to keep his place.
Only Richie Sagrado and long-term absentee Michael Svoboda are unavailable, leaving Eusebio Di Francesco with most of his squad to choose from.
Once again, Christian Gytkjaer and Daniel Fila are vying for one place up front, most likely supported by John Yeboah or Gaetano Oristanio.
Venezia possible starting lineup:
Radu; Schingtienne, Idzes, Cande; Zerbin, Perez, Nicolussi Caviglia, Busio, Haps; Yeboah; Gytkjaer
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Richardson, Adli, Mandragora, Gosens; Beltran, Gudmundsson
We say: Venezia 1-1 Fiorentina
Having fumbled the most points from leading positions throughout Serie A - a remarkable 30 so far - any Venezia lead is not safe.
Though the much improved and highly motivated hosts are capable of capitalising on Fiorentina's Conference League hangover, they may slip up again, producing a result that suits neither side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
