For the 11th day of Serie A football, Fiorentina-Juventus is on the pitch:
Juventus is looking for the perfect week, after Napoli and Az Alkmaar there will now be the litmus test in Florence against the Viola. Luciano Spalletti has found results and composure after going through the most complicated and delicate period of his first year in black and white, the two victories between the championship and the Europa League allowed the clouds of the crisis to be removed.
This Juve, however, has too often become accustomed to worrying missed passes just after sending signs of recovery, the match in Holland is emblematic in this sense: a beautiful and convincing performance until the 88th minute, but also a final of suffering and shivers that infuriated Spalletti. "If it had lasted five more minutes, we wouldn't have taken it home" is his comment to underline the decline that must be canceled at all costs.
Now Europe can go to the archives until the end of the month, but before the break we have to regain share in the championship. "We cannot be in such a position in the standings, we are too far from the top and we are looking for the continuity that we have lacked" warned the Gatti group, after the victory in Holland. The objective is to achieve the third consecutive victory in all competitions, for Spalletti it is a sort of taboo: the last time the trio of successes arrived dates back to last April, when Genoa, Atalanta and Bologna were beaten in sequence.
Even Florence does not leave particularly pleasant memories for the Bianconeri, to the point that in the last seven away games at the Franchi they managed to return home with a win on just one occasion, on 5 November 2023. Last year, then, the Viola stopped Juve in both the first leg and the second leg, with the 1-0 at the Stadium on the penultimate day which effectively ousted Spalletti and his boys from this season's Champions League.
At Continassa they are looking for countermeasures to beat the former Toro Vanoli's team, the trip to Alkmaar has left a legacy of another injury: Cambiaso, in fact, has suffered a muscle strain which will force him to miss the Franchi match. At least there is Celik who has resumed work with his teammates and is a candidate to return, but we are moving towards a starting shirt for Cabal after the "violent" encounter with Spalletti in Holland. There are also signs of recovery from McKennie and also for Conceicao there is a faint hope of having him available, in any case for the attack the Kolo Muani-Woltemade-Alajbegovic trident is favoured, which worked so well against Az.
Fiorentina wants to go into the break with their first home win in the league, breaking a fast that has lasted since April 13th (1-0 over Lazio). Achieving it against Juventus, in the match that has always been most popular in Florence, would have a particular flavor and the first to know is Paolo Vanoli: "My goal is to teach all the players who wear this shirt what this match means for the city and for the fans. It's 'the match'. For this reason I'm showing my boys some images from the past" said the Viola coach, encouraged by the success against Sassuolo, "I knew we were growing".
Waiting for the exam in a sold out Franchi, net of the reduced capacity for the works, with the clubs of the curve having organized a choreography with thousands of flags. "We miss not winning in front of our fans, we will do everything to get the three points even if we have to be careful - Vanoli's recommendation -. It's true that Juve has several injured players but it's still Juve, a strong team, with an important squad and a very good coach who knows this city and the value of this match well."
With Atta and Pongracic still unavailable, the coach is confident of recovering at least Ranieri. As for the lineup, the initial confirmation of the one that beat Sassuolo with a single run-off is possible, between Fagioli and Oulai, while Goncalves, whose arrival on Monday was decisive, currently seems destined to start from the bench again. "Let's not make a big deal out of it as we shouldn't make a case for Oulai. Most of all, it's important to play as a team and for the team."
Among the most anticipated Viola players is the former Fagioli player who has just returned from a period of decline. "Nicolò just needs to stay calm and continue doing what he is doing, knowing that there is a coach who will always be close to him. I know he cares a lot about this challenge, I hope he scores goals like the exes I meet" smiled Vanoli who, before the conference, wanted to remember Jesus de Miguel, the Spanish footballer who died after a game clash, and Bernardo Rogora, one of the protagonists of Viola's second championship who passed away a few days ago.
