Juventus – Fiorentina 09.02.2013

One of the biggest derbies of Italian football is set for a new edition, with everything suggesting we will see a hugely entertaining encounter in Turin.

Juventus are desperate to cement the first place in the Serie A standings, whereas Fiorentina want to keep up with good results after beating Parma last weekend.

Juventus had been pretty outstanding from the very start to the season and at one point it looked as though they would have no problems defending the Serie A title. However, things have changed considerably over the last few weeks, with their advantage at the top melting to just three points. Numerous selection problems certainly played a part, with Juve’s back line clearly much weaker now that both Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are unavailable. Having conceded in every one of their last four matches, the Bianconeri obviously need to continue the impressive goalscoring run if they want to see off their arch rivals in Turin. The return of Mirko Vucinic should make Antonio Conte’s side more ruthless up front, while due to the importance of the match Juventus can be expected to attack their opponents from the off, with packed Juventus Arena also expected to play a part.

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Fiorentina, too, have been quite impressive in the opening exchanges, with the arrival of 18 new players seriously improving the quality of the squad. With playmaker David Pizarro on the sidelines, Viola experienced all sorts of problems in January 2013, losing four of five games in that period, although it is important to say their showings were not that bad at all. As expected, as the Chilean midfielder returned to the side, Fiorentina eased off to a win over very good Parma side, and they now aim to start a new promising run by taking at least one point from Turin. Even if the visitors would certainly be happy with one point from this match, it is highly unlikely they will opt for a defence-minded approach, since that is just not Vincenzo Montella’s style. Viola will rather attempt to triumph in an open battle, which should guarantee us plenty of goals at Juventus Arena.