Despite holding home advantage at their Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday morning, Fiorentina face a tough assignment ahead of them when they play host to high-flying Napoli especially as the visitors are still in the running for a possible Champions League spot.
Fiorentina themselves have put together a solid run of five matches without defeat in Serie A which includes victories against Hellas Verona and Lazio along with picking up useful points in draws with Juventus, Bologna and Cagliari.
These recent results have helped the hosts keep the relegation dramas at arms length.
However, it has been an extremely inconsistent campaign for Fiorentina in the Italian top flight as the hosts have won 9, drawn 12 and lost 15 of their 36 matches played to date this term while at home, Fiorentina have won, drawn and lost in equal measure.
In addition, Fiorentina have managed to win just one of their last six matches at home and the hosts look set to be without experienced midfielder, Valero, with a muscle injury.
Napoli sit in 4th place in Serie A which places them in the running for a possible Champions League spot for next season but with just a slender one point advantage over 5th placed Juventus, the visitors know they can’t afford to slip up here this Sunday.
Napoli have hit their straps at just about the right time in recent weeks though as the visitors are unbeaten in their last seven matches overall which includes wins against Sampdoria, Lazio, Torino, Spezia and Udinese.
While the bigger picture shows that Gennaro Gattuso’s side have suffered just the one defeat out of their last 14 matches.
This therefore makes Napoli very dangerous customers and their results on the road have been equally impressive as the visitors have won five of their last six matches on their travels with victories collected at AC Milan, Roma, Sampdoria, Torino and Spezia, so Napoli will be in confident mood here as well.
In addition, Napoli have lost just one of the last five meetings against Fiorentina and their incentive to collect the three points this Sunday is far greater than that of their hosts, and although they’ll be without the likes of Ghoulam, Koulibaly, Lobotka and Maksimovic, the visitors look set for further success here.
To sum up, Fiorentina have little to play for while Napoli are on a roll.