- 1 Fiorentina vs Napoli: one win in 17 home meetings, and the weight of history at the Franchi
- 2 Fiorentina: two home games, two defeats before Vanoli’s return
- 3 Napoli: four straight wins in the rivalry, but a side still searching for rhythm
- 4 Serie A prediction Fiorentina vs Napoli
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information moves fast
- 8 Your job
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Fiorentina vs Napoli: one win in 17 home meetings, and the weight of history at the Franchi 
Napoli? Fiorentina have won just one of their last 17 Serie A home games against Napoli. That lone success came back in April 2018.
That ugly record kicks off round five of the Italian top flight, on Sunday 20 September at 12:30 Paris time at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Both sides arrive with plenty of doubts of their own.
The Tuscan club have fallen flat across the first four rounds, including a 4-0 hammering in Rome. Three points on the board already leaves them staring at the wrong end of the table.
That brought a change in the dugout, with Fabio Grosso shown the door and Paolo Vanoli brought back in. He had already kept them up in an interim spell last season.
His second stint started with a 4-2 win in Venice, helped by a hat-trick from Franco Mastantuono, on loan from Real Madrid. A 3-0 Coppa Italia win over Pisa followed on Tuesday.
Napoli, meanwhile, are still lurching along under Massimiliano Allegri, with two wins and two defeats in Serie A. They just beat Bologna 1-0, their first home win of the Allegri era at the Maradona.
Their campaign began with a 2-0 win in Genoa before they stumbled at home against Como. That 1-2 result kicked off the noise around Naples.
Both teams are fragile in different ways, and neither has found anything close to its best level yet this season.
The fixture also lands just before the international break, so both clubs will want to head into it with something in the bank.
Fiorentina: two home games, two defeats before Vanoli’s return 
Fiorentina lost their first three Serie A games before finally winning the fourth. Three points on the board is the worst start of any mid-table side in Italy.
Their two home matches this season at the Franchi have both ended in defeat. Frosinone won 3-0 there, Torino 2-1, and both are sitting down near the bottom.
Fabio Grosso lasted only four league games in charge of the Tuscan side. Vanoli has been handed the job in a hurry, having already been called in midway through last season.
His return has immediately sharpened the attack. They have scored seven goals in two outings, after netting only five across the opening four league rounds.
Mastantuono’s hat-trick in Venice was the headline act of the restart. The Argentine turned a messy match on its head almost by himself.
The Coppa Italia win over Pisa backed up the improvement. Three summer arrivals found the net that night.
Mateo Pellegrino has scored in each of his last three appearances and looks the likeliest to start through the middle. Beto is his main rival for that role.
Pedro Goncalves and Willy Gnonto also scored against Pisa, which gives Vanoli more options out wide. Alieu Njie is also in the attacking mix.
Injury-wise, only Fabiano Parisi remains sidelined with a long-term issue. Vanoli has the full squad available for this one against Naples.
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Napoli: four straight wins in the rivalry, but a side still searching for rhythm 
Napoli have won the last four meetings with Fiorentina, scoring at least twice every time. Home or away, the balance of power has not shifted.
Allegri has also enjoyed this matchup personally. He has lost only once in his last 12 league meetings with the Tuscan club, winning nine, across spells with AC Milan and Juventus.
Their league record stands at two wins and two defeats from four games. The 2-0 victory in Genoa and the home win over Bologna are the only points they have collected.
The 1-2 defeat to Como at the Maradona still stings most. That was followed by a 3-2 loss away to Inter in Milan.
The schedule has not been kind to the Partenopei since mid-August. Back-to-back defeats against Inter Milan in Serie A and Arsenal in the Champions League turned the heat up fast.
It took a rare strike from Stanislav Lobotka to edge Bologna and ease the pressure a little. That 1-0 was Allegri’s first home win since taking over.
The injury list is still long: goalkeeper Alex Meret, winger Alisson Santos, Giovane, Scott McTominay, Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci are all out. Frank Anguissa remains a doubt with an adductor problem, which would keep Billy Gilmour alongside Lobotka.
Up front, Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Naples league goal at the Franchi a year ago. Kevin De Bruyne is feeding him this season, creating at least twice as many chances as any other player in the squad.
Buongiorno’s absence strips the back line of its usual leader. Amir Rrahmani and Rafa Marin should therefore be paired in the centre for Naples.
Probable Fiorentina line-up: De Gea; Mario, Dragusin, Ranieri, Viery; Ndour, Fagioli; Mastantuono, Atta, Njie; Pellegrino
Probable Napoli line-up: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Gilmour, Lobotka; Politano, De Bruyne, Vergara; Hojlund
Serie A prediction Fiorentina vs Napoli
Our pick: Napoli to win
Four straight wins in this fixture, with at least two goals scored on each occasion, is the strongest angle of the weekend. Fiorentina have also won just once in 17 home meetings with this same opponent.
The immediate form points the same way. The Tuscans have lost both of their league matches at the Franchi this season, against Frosinone and Torino. Naples come in off a win and still have De Bruyne, by far their main creator, pulling the strings in the side.
The Partenopei leave Florence with all three points. Back Naples to win.
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