FIORENTINA 0-0 VERONA LIVE
UDINESE 0-0 SASSUOLO LIVE
Fiorentina, hunt for three points but lose Gonzalez
Fiorentina lose Nico Gonzalez but they do not intend to stop: today against Verona they will be looking for a win to stay in the race for a place in the Champions League. The Conference League round of 9 won last Thursday by drawing in Budapest with Ferencvaros have already been archived, Vincenzo Italiano (today remained silent) wants to take advantage of his team's good momentum certified by a streak of positive results even if starting tomorrow he will have to do without his strongest player, Viola top scorer with <> goals: the examinations carried out following the injury suffered by Gonzalez during the match against Ferencvaros showed a second-degree injury of the flexor muscles of the right thigh, the Argentine striker, the club said through a note, has already begun the rehabilitation process waiting to be re-evaluated in the coming weeks. The hope in the Viola clan is to have him back available for the Super League Cup scheduled for the end of January (the dates have not yet been made official) but at the moment it is difficult to make any predictions. The only certainty is that Italiano has to give up his star player for quite a while and will have to make sure that his team, while waiting for the management to intervene in the market, is not affected too much. Starting tomorrow against Verona, in one of those games full of pitfalls. Among other things, Fiorentina arrives there after yet another midweek fixture although recovering, except for Duncan still out due to fever, those players who missed the Hungarian trip: Arthur, Bonaventura, Sottil and Biraghi, the last three in predicate of wearing a starting shirt. Gonzalez's place is contested by Ikoné and Kouamé unless Sottil himself is moved to the right, Terracciano will return in goal and Martinez Quarta will be on the bench in the center of defense on Thursday.
Cioffi: 'Udinese on the rise, we'll have a good game'
"We are in the middle of a path of growth, we have to start it quickly, because the championship does not wait. I'm sure the guys will put in a good performance." This was said by Gabriele Cioffi, in a press conference, on the eve of the home match against Sassuolo.
The Udinese coach has made it known that he has already decided on the players of the starting 11. "One of these is Marco Silvestri, about whom I have never had any doubts. You go on with him. Defensively, despite injuries and suspensions, I have a lot of choice: we have Masina, Perez, Kristensen, Kabasele, Guessand and Tikvic.
We need to look at who is there and give those present the chance to show that they deserve the starting jersey."
Good news is the recovery of Isaac Success: "He comes from three high-intensity training sessions and is available - confirms the coach - He had taken a knee in the first minutes of the game against Verona and we lost him for 12 days".
Cioffi also stimulates internal competition and appreciates the determination of Lucca and Thauvin: "That they claim space is important, it means that they have the desire. Now you just have to work, without anxiety. The moment of the championship says that this is our reality and it is clear to everyone what we have to do. What the fans expect, what the press demands, what the environment demands, is the same as we want." "In the end, the court is always the field - observes the coach of the Friulians - if you do well you play. Also because there are no quiet weeks, there is always a surprise around the corner".
Finally, Cioffi analyses the last few days: "Between Monza and Verona I saw an increasingly aggressive attitude, the only game in which we decided to wait was against Inter for various reasons. They have had the week without commitments and severely punish teams that attack man-to-man. They scored four goals against Fiorentina, three against Napoli, five against Milan, so I decided to wait for them lower."
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