Fiorentina vs Bologna

Fiorentina’s pursuit of a coveted Serie A top-four finish continues this weekend as they take on mid-table Bologna at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Fiorentina are warm favourites to obtain the bragging rights in the 140th edition of the top-flight Derby dell’Appennino, as they hold the all-time upper hand in this long-standing rivalry (W55, D46, L38). Indeed, ‘La Viola’ are unbeaten in their last 12 Serie A meetings with Bologna (W9, D3), including a ‘goal-friendly’ 3-2 triumph in the reverse fixture earlier this season. But Fiorentina’s hopes of landing European football for next season have suffered a couple of setbacks lately, as a 1-1 home draw with Hellas Verona last time out followed up a 2-1 defeat away to Sassuolo. With sixth-placed Atalanta now four points ahead of them in the Serie A standings, Vincenzo Italiano’s men will reach out to a bag of tricks that has helped them go unbeaten in nine of their last ten Serie A home outings (W7, D2).

On the other hand, Bologna will take the field on the back of consecutive low-scoring draws with fellow bottom-half rivals Salernitana and Torino, taking their unbeaten Serie A streak to three games (W1). Worryingly, though, only relegation-threatened Genoa (6) have failed to get on the scoresheet in more top-flight fixtures than Bologna (4) in 2022 so far. Slow entries could represent another problem for ‘I Rossoblu’ as they’ve netted a league-low four goals inside the opening 30 minutes of play this Serie A season. Topically, Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men have drawn a blank in eight of their last nine league visits to Fiorentina, suffering a staggering seven defeats in that period (D2). Any hope of avoiding a similar scenario will hinge on Bologna’s ability to open the scoring, as they’ve lost all six Serie A away games in which they conceded first this term.