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Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢
Juventus' Juan Cuadrado, left, celebrates with is teammates Andrea Barzagli after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Fiorentina  at the Juventus stadium, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/ Massimo Pinca)
Juventus' Juan Cuadrado, left, celebrates with is teammates Andrea Barzagli after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Fiorentina at the Juventus stadium, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/ Massimo Pinca)Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

Fiorentina vs. Juventus: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

Adam DigbyApr 23, 2016

Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Lazio brought Juventus to the brink of a fifth-consecutive Serie A title, but bitter rivals Fiorentina will look to prolong their wait for the trophy when they host the Bianconeri on Sunday evening.

The home side have endured some poor results of late—winning just one of their last nine outings in all competitions—but boss Paulo Sousa explained the significance of their next outing shortly after losing to Udinese earlier this week.

“This weekend is a big game with Juventus and one that the fans care about a great deal,” the coach told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia), and the former Juventus midfielder will be under no illusions as to how difficult this clash will be for Fiorentina.

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Indeed, the Bianconeri are still undefeated since winning against city rivals Torino back in October—also progressing to the final of the Coppa Italia for the second successive year—and defender Andrea Barzagli expects that streak to continue.

“Tonight represents an important step forward in our season, now we need to keep going by turning in top performances,” he told Sky Italia moments after the win over Lazio (h/t Juventus' website). “We’ve grown a great deal and our results don’t surprise me at all.”

TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 24:  Paulo Dybala (R) of Juventus FC celebrates after scoring the opening goal with team mate Paul Pogba during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and AS Roma at Juventus Arena on January 24, 2016 in Turin, Italy.  (Photo by Vale

That triumph owed much to the performances of Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba—a matter discussed at length in this previous post—and coach Massimiliano Allegri is likely to rely on that duo once again against Fiorentina.

Pogba has already weighed in with 10 goals and 12 assists this term, both figures representing career highs from the 23-year-old France star. Meanwhile, Dybala is enjoying a remarkable first campaign in Turin, his brace against Lazio taking his 2015/16 tally to 20 in all competitions, adding eight assists of his own.

Supported by the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Sami Khedira, Juve’s young duo will look to shine once again against La Viola, helping Juventus take another step towards clinching yet more silverware in the coming weeks.

Date: Sunday, April 24, 2016

Time: 7:45 p.m. BST/2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK), beIN Sports 1 (USA)

Live Stream: BT Connect (UK)

Form Lines

Last five domestic results:

Torino 1-4 JuventusFrosinone 0-0 Fiorentina
Juventus 1-0 EmpoliFiorentina 1-1 Sampdoria
AC Milan 1-2 JuventusEmpoli 2-0 Fiorentina
Juventus 4-0 PalermoFiorentina 3-1 Sassuolo
Juventus 3-0 LazioUdinese 2-1 Fiorentina

Probable Formations

Fiorentina: (3-4-2-1): Ciprian Tatarusanu; Facundo Roncaglia, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Davide Astori; Federico Bernardeschi, Milan Badelj, Matias Vecino, Marcos Alonso; Borja Valero, Josip Ilicic; Nikola Kalinic

Unavailable: Yohan Benalouane and Khouma Babacar (both injured)

Juventus (3-5-2): Gigi Buffon; Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sami Khedira, Mario Lemina, Paul Pogba, Patrice Evra; Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala

Unavailable: Neto, Roberto Pereyra, Giorgio Chiellini, Martin Caceres and Claudio Marchisio (all injured), Stefano Sturaro (suspended)

Key Battle

While Fiorentina’s campaign has undoubtedly been tumultuous, Borja Valero remains an important member of the side and is undoubtedly the key man in their attack. When fielded in a deeper role, the Viola miss the Spain native’s creativity as his passing becomes much more influential when he is higher up the pitch.

Weighing in with four goals and six assists, stopping him will be vital if Juventus are to take points home from the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which is perhaps why Allegri is expected to start Mario Lemina rather than Hernanes in midfield.

BERGAMO, ITALY - MARCH 06:  Mario Lemina of Juventus FC celebrates his goal during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Juventus FC at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia on March 6, 2016 in Bergamo, Italy.  (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Gabon international has overcome some injury problems and developed into a solid stand-in for the absent Claudio Marchisio, turning in some impressive performances in recent weeks.

As discussed in this previous post, Lemina’s future remains uncertain, but he would do well to show himself capable of stopping Borja here and help Juventus take another step towards clinching the Serie A title.

Player to Watch

While that midfield battle is likely to have a major influence on the final result, there is little doubt that any hope of a positive outcome for Fiorentina rests squarely on the shoulders of Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Playing in the centre of a three-man back line, the club captain often finds himself single-handedly repelling opposition attacks, receiving little help from the underperforming duo alongside him.

Indeed, while Davide Astori and Facundo Roncaglia continually make error-prone displays, Gonzalo—inexplicably not a regular member of the Argentina national side—is the one reliable central defender in the Viola squad.

According to statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, the 32-year-old—who has bagged four goals this term—has made an average of 1.3 tackles, 2.6 interceptions and 4.3 clearances per game in 2015/16.

Also connecting with 87.1 percent of his 62.2 pass attempts per game, Fiorentina will undoubtedly need Gonzalo at his very best if they are to hold the Old Lady at bay on Sunday evening.

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Away win: 51-50

Home win: 68-25

Draw: 239/100

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