On the pitch at 3pm
Empoli - Fiorentina
and
Udinese - Cagliari
.
THE LIVE
EVE
Victory and relaunch: this is the objective of Fiorentina awaiting the derby with Empoli.
A match that has always been difficult due to the rivalry and hunger of the opponents for points, this time however it promises to be more complicated than usual for Vincenzo Italiano and his team fresh from the defeat in the direct clash with Bologna and grappling with a rather delicate moment, certified by the results: just one success since the beginning of 2024, last Sunday against Frosinone (5-1) and five defeats, three in a row away in the league.
Hence a ranking that saw the Viola, fourth at the end of the year, move away from the Europe zone.
However, this is not stopping the fans, so much so that there could be four thousand of them at Castellani, many of whom will reach Empoli by train on an initiative launched by the clubs of the Fiesole curve.
Today Italiano did not even speak to official channels (as has already happened in the past): Martinez Quarta returns to the squad after his disqualification but Christian Kouamé is still missing, having only returned today after winning the title with his national team, the Ivory Coast, African Cup.
The winger aims to return on February 26 against Lazio.
Compared to the lineup lined up on Wednesday in Bologna, more than one change is announced: in defense Faraoni and Parisi, former players on duty, could be relaunched, causing Kayode and Biraghi to take a breather, while Sottil (in the run-off with Ikoné) could have a chance up front while Nico Gonzalez would return to the right wing.
Towards Belotti's confirmation, as for Arthur, called up despite some ailments, he could start on the bench (in his place Mandragora or Maxime Lopez) and the same goes for Bonaventura, who would initially be replaced by Beltran.
Never like this time, however, will Italiano take all the time necessary to make his choices.
Fiorentina will play with mourning on their arms to commemorate the victims of the workplace tragedy that occurred in Florence.
Cioffi, with Cagliari he must not end with a handful of flies
- "After the victory over Juventus, we are positive and euphoric, as Ranieri defined us. But also humble. We have done something extraordinary, but it is nothing if we go out with a handful of flies flies after tomorrow's match. Winning is a habit and we have to learn to do it, tomorrow it will be important to come out with points, be it one or three. It will depend on the attitude of the boys but I'm sure they will have the right attitude."
Gabriele Cioffi stated this on the eve of the home survival match between his Udinese and Cagliari.
"We certainly have to improve the possession phase - he added - we will have it against Cagliari, but I think we also saw a lot against Monza, where we played the game. Beating the big teams and not the small ones has no explanation: the data says that we are the team with the least possession, but all the matches have had different readings, despite a similar attitude."
As for the infirmary, captain Pereyra does not recover, but there is plenty on the wings with Ferreira, Ehizibue and Ebosele competing for a shirt on the right and Zemura favored over Kamara on the left.
For the attack, "Davis could have 15 or 20 minutes in his legs - Cioffi predicts - For Deulofeu and Bijol, however, it's a little longer, certainly not a couple of weeks".
Sweet words for Giannetti - "he was a spark, he has a lot of experience, he gives you awareness" - and above all for Samardzic: "With Juventus he played his best game in the defensive phase but I think he only made mistakes against Inter, in the others he applied himself a lot with great sacrifice. With Juventus he had a very high mental resilience, which for a player with his talent is unexpected, but I know that he can do it and he must demonstrate that he continues to do so. Samardzic, however, seen Since the end of the transfer window he has had a commendable attitude, it's important but just as important is Payero, who is finding less space, and also Zarraga, who is playing very little but who is a hammer in training."
Final passage on Thauvin: "Since mid-October he has always been a point of reference for me and for the team, I know that he has been strong with me since day one, he has always waited for his moment, now I have no difficulty in saying that he is one of our leaders silenti, a driving force behind the game and football".
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