Terrible news, everyone. Fiorentina’s back in action this weekend. Even worse, Serie A’s most disappointing side takes on Como, a team that’s already won twice in Florence this year, most recently in the Coppa Italia. The Lariani, of course, have gone from strength to strength, knocking Napoli out of the Coppa on penalties on Tuesday. Perhaps the Viola can ambush their high flying hosts, who might be tired out from their midweek exertions, but let’s be real: Como’s miles ahead and is the obvious
favorite.
The match will be played on Saturday, 14 February 2026, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 AM EST at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinagaglia in Como. The forecast calls for a grey day on the banks of the lake with the chance of some rain, which perfectly suits my feelings going into this one. As a reminder, Fiorentina’s fans aren’t allowed to travel for Serie A games for the rest of the year after their idiotic clash with AS Roma fans on a highway outside Turin.
Three things to watch for
1. Intensity, urgency, all that jazz
Every cliche applies to Fiorentina right now. There aren’t leaders, there’s no character, the mentality is awful. I quantified it with a look at late-game performance earlier this week but you don’t need numbers to see that something fundamental is broken at this club. Whether that’s the deaths of Joe Barone and Rocco Commisso in quick succession or the organizational turmoil in upper management positions, things aren’t right and that hasn’t trickled down to the players so much as inundated them.
Fiorentina has shown glimpses of competence, of course. The first half against Como was excellent, for example, despite a wackily-rotated squad. The second half against Torino last time out was very good until the turtling began. Everything could and must improve, of course, but that’s not possible at this juncture. Cutting out the boneheaded mistakes would go a long way to staying in Serie A, though. If the Viola can just not dribble urine down their own legs, they’ve got a reasonable chance of getting something from this.
2. Set piece defense, as per usual
Fiorentina has gone ahead in both meetings with Como this year and in both, Como equalized through a set piece goal. I’m as sick of writing about this topic as you are of reading it but the fact remains that Fiorentina is almost uniquely catastrophic at defending set pieces; before fbref lost its data, the Viola had conceded more chances from them than any team in Serie A, and I haven’t seen anything that would change that. The only silver lining is that for Como to equalize from another corner or free kick would mean that at least Fiorentina will have scored again, only to unravel as per.
3. What fresh idiocy Fiorentina will unveil
One thing that’s been fun* about this year’s Fiorentina is the variety of errors that every player commits. We’ve seen defenders make inexcusable passes out the back, fluff their clearances, or stare at forwards running past them without moving. We’ve seen midfielders dribble into culs-de-sac of their own construction, bork 5-yard passes, and stand astonished in the center circle rather than track back. The forwards have missed goals in increasingly creative ways, dribbled into touch, and wandered off the pitch to enjoy a nice bowl of carabaccia.
Variety is the spice of life and this is a very spicy team indeed. If you, like me, have pretty much given up hope for this incredible collection of bozos to actually do their jobs for 90 minutes, the only entertainment they can offer you is a series of mistakes that deserve the Boots Randolph treatment. If we’re stuck on this sinking ship, all we can do is fire up the kazoos and provide a morbidly raucous chorus before the waves close over our heads.
*this has not actually been fun at all
Possible lineups
Share My Tactics" data-portal-copyright="Made using Share My Tactics" />
Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
Everyone from the experts to the bookies to the bettors predicts Como to win and that’s the correct opinion. After all, Serie A’s nouveau-est riche side is in the hunt for a Champions League place and, even if that’s probably beyond it, Europe beckons any team in 6th at this stage of the season. The visitors are, of course, complete and utter ass. Their only advantage is a few extra days of rest and that’s not nearly enough to tip the scales.
Due to the curse that is TMBGD, though, I guess I’ll call it a 1-2 win for the visitors. The Moose has shown signs of life lately and I like his odds to get in behind the Como defense a couple of times; he’ll need to finish one of those chances, of course, but we’re in a safe space here so let’s assume he does. Como will pull one back via Paz after a scramble at a free kick, setting the stage for a late winner on the break from Marco Brescianini as the hosts pour bodies forward. Como’s going to dominate this game by every statistical and emotional metric but hey, why not pretend like Fiorentina has a chance? We lose nothing by hoping.
Forza Viola!
