Fiorentina showed a pulse for the first time this year in the win at Rapid Wien on Thursday, but the Derby dell’Appennino is always a different beast entirely. Adding to the drama is the fact that Bologna
manager Vincenzo Italiano has been hospitalized for pneumonia and will miss this one; whether that leads to a flatter Oscar Mayer side without his fiery desire to beat his former employers or inspires the players to greater heights remains to be seen.
Regardless, this is always an intense and unpredictable fixture. The home team won both times last year, with Moise Kean dunking all over Emil Holm in Florence, adding a little extra spice. The match will be played on Sunday, 26 October 2025, at 15:00 GMT/11:00 AM EST at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in beautiful Firenze. The forecast calls for a gray afternoon. Keep an eye on the wind, which could be very gusty, and keep an eye on the crowd. It probably won’t be a cauldron since the Franchi’s under capacity—and will remain so indefinitely—but it should be quite an atmosphere.
Three things to watch for
1. Is there actually a midfield here?
It wasn’t just the result against SK Rapid on Thursday. It was the flashes of genuine competence, particularly from a midfield that’s slumbered through the season thus far. Nobody’s going to confuse Nicolò Fagioli, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, and Cher Ndour for Xavi/Iniesta/Busquets any time soon but they looked like professional players with a plan rather than 3 stray cats meeting each other for the first time.
The question is whether that newfound cohesion can survive Bologna’s intense pressing. Any Italiano team is going to close down like demons and that intensity might be enough to crush the delicate little stalk that Fiorentina’s pushed up. The Rossoblu are going to go man-for-man, so whoever’s in the engine room will have to work hard to find space and maintain a positive and progressive mentality for 90 minutes.
2. Moise Kean waking up
The Moose finally got rolling against AC Milan last week, scoring a fantastic effort and striking the woodwork not long after. It was his first in Serie A this year and it’s hard not to take that a bit personally: he’s got just the one goal in 7 appearances despite leading the league in xG but has struck 4 times in 3 appearances for Italy. It’s clearly not a matter of him falling off a cliff because he’s still a monster at international level, leaving all of us (presumably including Stefano Pioli) utterly baffled.
This sets up perfectly for Kean to score again. Bologna will press high and leave its defenders isolated against him, which is a situation we’ve seen him capitalize on time and again. Jhon Lucumí‘s well-suited to defend him, boasting good pace and strength, but Torbjørn Heggem isn’t as quick and could struggle in space. The Viola attack always revolves around Moise, of course, but all the ingredients are there for him to really do something this time around.
3. A perfectly bifurcated season
You may have heard that Fiorentina hasn’t won a game in Serie A yet but sits top of the Conference League standings. This one is for the sickos, but can you imagine the sheer hilarity of a team not winning for an entire domestic season but steamrolling everyone en route to a European trophy? As far as unexpected and seemingly impossible achievements, it’d outdo Leicester City winning the Premier League for sheer unlikelihood. I don’t want that, of course, but actually yes I do. You could put my dead ass in a coffin and still hear me giggling.
Possible lineups
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Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
The bookies have this one just about even, which is surprising. Bologna’s in 5th place and has an identity. Fiorentina’s in 18th and doesn’t. Both had Thursday away games in Europe—Vienna for the hosts, Bucharest for the visitors—so there’s no rest advantage. No, the oddsmakers have this one even because they feel like it.
And you know what? They’re right. This fixture is, like an derby, tough to predict, especially with Federico La Penna refereeing (the failure to spot a ball clearly out of touch against Inter last year and a woeful penalty decision for Napoli today). Because form and talent so often go out the window in a derby like this, I’ll call it a 1-0 win for the good guys behind a Kean goal. I’d also take the over on cards if I were a degenerate gambler.
Forza Viola!
