Serie A will open its doors for 2020/21 this weekend with the biggest clash of the weekend set to see Jose Mourinho at the helm for his first league game as new Roma boss when they play hosts to Fiorentina.
The ex-Manchester United man took very little time to join the Italian outfit when he was sacked as Tottenham Hotspur boss last season, and is his 10th managerial job, his first outside of England in eight years, and his first back in Italy for 11 years.
An important away victory 🇮🇹🐺🇺🇿 📸 Don’t miss the best photos from #TSRoma ➡️ https://t.co/PYkBmPFunI pic.twitter.com/VyuqlkD0De— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 19, 2021
An important away victory 🇮🇹🐺🇺🇿 📸 Don’t miss the best photos from #TSRoma ➡️ https://t.co/PYkBmPFunI pic.twitter.com/VyuqlkD0De
Mourinho has also acted swiftly and tactically in getting his first team together also, bringing in Rui Patricio from Wolverhampton Wanderers as their new number one, and Tammy Abraham as their main centre-forward, with their top marksman, Edin Dzeko, departing for Inter Milan.
At a reported £34m, Abraham's signature is a bit of a gamble after a topsy-turvy Chelsea career, but with Mourinho's guidance, history bodes well for the Englishman and Roma within this partnership.
Mourinho also acquired the services of Eldor Shomurodov, Matias Vina and Roger Ibanez, which all make up a very positive transfer market for the Rome side, and there can now be no excuses for not improving on their torrid seventh-placed finish last season.
As a result of last campaign, the club enter this campaign without European football. Now, after a preseason that saw high-scoring wins, high-scoring defeats, and some draws, it’s now time for everything to gel together for Roma.
Fiorentina, on the other hand, haven't had a great summer transfer market and in fact, they have spent much of their time shipping players out of the club, as Franck Ribery, Alban Lafont and Federico Ceccherini were part of 14 departures for them.
The club did, however, manage to acquire the services of Nicolás González and Igor, but it is tough to see how this all adds up to them breaking back into the top half of Serie A this season.
Fiorentina did finish 13th last time out, where they conceded an almighty 59 goals and lost 16 times, winning just nine - this was the second least number of victories outside of the relegation zone in last season's Serie A.
With this form, plus the contrasting feelings heading into the new season, Forebet predicts a pretty easy start to the Mourinho era in Rome, and a win looks on the cards for the ex-Real Madrid man back in Italy.