Fiorentina travel to Udinese on the final day of the Serie A season this Sunday with hope of playing football on the continent again next year.
La Viola still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Conference League for the fourth season running, but they need a big favour from elsewhere, while also getting the job done here at the Bluenergy Stadium.
Match preview
© Imago
For the first time in three years, Fiorentina will not have a European final to look forward to at the end of May, following their semi-final exit to Real Betis in the Conference League, but they still have plenty to play for, hoping they can enter that competition again.
Raffaele Palladino‘s men are currently sat on 62 points, and they have never missed out on Europe when amassing more points than that.
However, this time around 65 points might not even be enough, because sixth-place Lazio only need a point at home to Lecce to ensure they claim at least the final European spot.
Fiorentina do have the head-to-head advantage over Lazio though, so if they were to win and the Biancocelesti lost to Lecce, it would be Palladino’s men celebrating.
Slim hopes have been kept alive thanks to their 3-2 win at Bologna last weekend, but it looks like it is going to be too little too late, as three straight defeats away from home across two competitions have been hugely costly for their objectives, especially at Venezia in their previous trip on the road.
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Udinese have won three of their last six Serie A matches against Fiorentina, as many as in the 17 games prior, but they have illustrated the dictionary definition of a team being on the beach in recent weeks.
Since mid-March, shortly after moving a comfortable distance away from the drop zone, Udinese have lost seven of their nine Serie A matches, the most in the division, while no other top-flight club has fewer points in that time (four).
Kosta Runjaic‘s men have taken just one point from their last four games at the Bluenergy Stadium, even falling to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Monza, a club that had lost 11 successive away matches heading into the fixture.
Form in general has been disappointing at home, especially against clubs in the top half, as Udinese have taken just eight points from nine such matches in Serie A this season.
Team News
© Imago
While Udinese will have both Lorenzo Lucca and Arthur Atta back from suspension, cautions last weekend will rule both Sandi Lovric and Thomas Kristensen out of this one.
Hassane Kamara is also a doubt after being forced off inside the opening half-hour a week ago, and he is set to join Martin Payero, Florian Thauvin, Jaka Bijol and Isaak Toure on the sidelines.
Fiorentina will have three players back from suspension, because Nicolo Zaniolo has served his ban following the red card he picked up against Roma, while Michael Folorunsho and Lucas Beltran are available after accumulating too many yellow cards.
The visitors will remain without Danilo Cataldi due to a hamstring issue though, while defender Pietro Comuzzo picked up an injury against Bologna that has likely ended his season a week early.
Moise Kean was the match-winner last weekend, firing home late on against Bologna, and while he has been beaten to the Serie A Capocannoniere by Mateo Retegui, the Fiorentina striker will make it 25 for the season across all competitions if he finds the net here.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Ehizibue, Kabasele, Solet; Modesto, Zarraga, Karlstrom, Zemura; Atta, Lucca, Ekkelenkamp
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Richardson, Fagioli, Gosens; Kean, Gudmundsson
We say: Udinese 0-2 Fiorentina
Udinese’s dismal recent results suggest Fiorentina may not face much resistance here as they seek to sneak into the Serie A top six on the final day, but they will need a huge favour from relegation-threatened Lecce.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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