Fresh off their first win since October, Fiorentina heads into a relegation 6-pointer with 19th-place Hellas Verona, which leapfrogged them after ambushing Atalanta last week for their first victory on the season. The Viola, of course, are still riding an ignominious 14-game winless streak in Serie A. This matchup, followed by games against Udinese and Parma, require 3 points. Otherwise, we’re all going to be figuring out how to stream Serie B next year.
The match will be played on Sunday, 14 December
2025, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 AM EST, at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in beautiful Firenze. The forecast calls for a clear, crisp December day, perfect for huddling into the stands and screaming your head off to support your team, and the supporters will be doing just that; if the Viola stumble here, they run the risk of losing the Curva completely.
Three things to watch for
1. Fighting a mirror
Neither of these teams ought to be as bad as they are; by most metrics, both Fiorentina and Verona should be hovering in the middle of the table rather than propping it up. The Viola have spent a lot more than the Gialloblù but in a lot of ways, these teams are very similar: some notable summer departures, a reshuffling up front that hasn’t succeeded, strikers constantly wandering offside (both teams are tied for 2nd most offsides), a lot of mistakes at the back.
And they’re both coming off a rare win and hoping to build on that result. It’s a long climb to safety from the bottom of the pile and the journey is unlikely but both clubs will hope to hang on. Fiorentina may have a slight talent advantage but that’s negated by a midweek game. You can dive into statistics and strategy as much as you want but none of it will make as great an impact as confidence, desire, and execution. I hate the “wants it more” cliche because it’s usually reductive to the point of idiocy, but here it might actually apply.
2. How the midfielders get on the ball
Every Viola department has been awful this year but for my money, the midfield’s been the worst. Everyone in it has looked afraid to show for the ball, taking a couple halfhearted steps towards whichever defender has it and then giving up when an opponent jogs along behind. That’s forced the defenders to go long, playing low-percentage passes to forwards who aren’t ready for them. Fixing the engine room remains Paolo Vanoli’s biggest task.
That’s why Amir Richardson was such a breath of fresh air against Dynamo Kyiv. He’s always in motion and always moving towards the ball, offering a wall to bounce it off. He played more 1-2s than the rest of the midfield has all season, and his ability to change both the speed he moves and the tempo of passing moves was remarkable. It’s probably too much to expect Hans Nicolussi Caviglia to morph into a similar player but hopefully Richardson’s reminded his companions that yeah, sometimes you need to work to get the ball. And moving it quickly is always better.
3. Remedial chemistry up front
Moise Kean and Albert Guðmundsson have been teammates for a year and a half now. While both have missed a significant number of games in that time, it’s remarkable that they still have no idea how to play together. It shouldn’t be that hard: Kean lurks on the last shoulder and Guðmundsson plays him in, or Kean holds up play and Guðmundsson runs onto his knockdowns.
Neither’s shown anything resembling an ability to connect with the other. It’s easy for me to write about what they should be doing but it’s harder to implement that on the pitch. Still, these guys are professionals and have to figure out something. Kean can’t keep putting his head down and running into triple teams; Guðmundsson can’t keep dropping into midfield and leaving his fellow striker unsupported. If these two can’t pass this basic chemistry test, they won’t graduate and will spend the summer doing remedial classes.
Possible lineups
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Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
The bookies back Fiorentina pretty strongly but I’m not convinced by that line. If you’re on this website, you know that the Viola fully deserve to be in last place, and the quick turnaround from the Conference League probably balances out any advantage the Franchi confers. There’s also the psychological hurdle of getting a first win in Serie A. The visitors cleared it last week but the hosts have left a trail of spilled hurdles behind them. With the schedule lined up as it is, the pressure to win here is enormous, and Vanoli will have to guide the glass ship through it.
I think he will. Fiorentina’s desperate and looks to be figuring a few things out. Kean will be the best player on the pitch and should have chances against a leaky defense. I’ll call it a 2-1 win for the good guys, with the Moose getting loose again for the opener and Roberto Piccoli grabbing one off the bench, while one of the Verona defenders pulls one back off a set piece because Fiorentina loves nothing more than conceding to an opposing centerback off a set piece. I’m also expecting an ugly game that descends into chippiness, with Pongračić, Mandragora, and Kean in the middle of it.
Forza Viola!
