Roma v Fiorentina: Match Discussion

A very special game awaits us today as Fiorentina, with a defense ranked 6th best in Europe (thanks to rwo power), comes to the capital riding a 9 game unbeaten streak. There are plenty of story lines to follow with this match with the biggest uundoubtedly being the return of legendary striker and current Viola boss Vincenzo Montella.

Squad News

Maarten Stekelenburg has called up to the squad after recovering from an injury that has kept him for the past 5 games. It remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to replace Mauro Goicoechea in goal. Bogdan Lobont is also on the team sheet, but is 3rd choice.

Rodrigo Taddei has also recovered from injury problems is also in the squad today, but will not start ahead of Ivan Piris. Marquinhos and Leandro Castan will retain their places in center defense with Federico Balzaretti on the left ahead of Dodo. Nico Burdisso remains on the bench in reserve along with Alessio Romagnoli.

Daniele De Rossi returns to the team sheet after serving his 3 game ban picked up in the derby and it's a bit of a mystery if he will start today with the likes of Michael Bradley, Miralem Pjanic and Panagiotis Tachtisidis in pretty good form. Alessandro Florenzi is likely drop to the bench as the youngster has played quite a few minutes since the start of the season. Marquinho and Simone Perrotta also remains options for Zeman to use.

In attack, the only real certainty here is that Francesco Totti will play on the left. Dani Osvaldo's scoring form seems to have dropped off a tad, coinciding with a small injury he's been playing with along with Mattia Destro's rise in form. The young Italy forward has found the net in every game since his debut goal against Lazio, including a crucial brace last time out against former side Siena. Making his return from injury is top scorer Erik Lamela, but I'm not expecting the Argentine to start this match as I don't think his fitness will be risked. This all continues not to bode well for Nico Lopez, who may seek a loan in January.




The Opposition: ACF Fiorentina



For me, this is one of the best sides anywhere right now. They are 4th in Serie A in scoring (27 goals) and 3rd in defense (14 conceded). A side with strength everywhere from Emiliano Viviano in goal to Facundo Roncaglia in defense to Alberto Aquilani in midfield to Stevan Jovetic in attack, this side has proven its credentials on more than one occasion this season, but they will be missing Pek's services however as he is in Chile to mourn the loss of his younger sister, Claudia (R.I.P). Top scorer Stevan Jovetic is also out with injuries.

FIORENTINA (3-5-2): Viviano; Roncaglia, Rodriguez, Savic; Cuadrado, Aquilani, Migliaccio, B. Valero, Pasqual; Toni, El Hamdaoui.

The Coach: Vincenzo Montella



The man who made me a Roma fan has really made a name for himself away from the capital and I'm all the more in awe of him for it. He dazzled the league last season with a great Catania side and has received a just reward for this with his biggest project in his young managerial career in Florence, transforming a fading side into European contenders. Now considered the natural successor in style and tactics to Cesare Prandelli. I'd love to see what Montella can do with this side in the Champions League next season, but if he can get there without beating us this season, everyone's going to be happy with that . Looks for the Neapolitan to set up the Viola in a 3-5-2 that emphasizes defensive solidarity along with vibrant, direct and incisive attacking football.

The Captain: Manuel Pasqual



Taking over the captaincy of the Tuscan side from the current Milan skipper Riccardo Montolivo, Pasqual will make his 212 appearance for Fiorentina today. Something of a dead-ball specialist and set-piece man, look for the San Dona di Piave-native to take the majority of Fiorentina's free-kicks. Down the left side of defense, he is an experience left-back who will get forward at the right times. He will have the responsibility of marking Destro so he's likely to have a difficult time of it.

The Danger Man: Juan Guillermo Cuadrado



I really wanted to cover Stevan Jovetic in this section, but with the exception of Valero and Aquilani in midfield, Cuadrado has been perhaps the 2nd-best player for this Fiorentina side and one of the top wing-backs on the continent. Having burst onto the scene with some eye-catching displays alongside fellow Colombian Luis Muriel, Cuadrado has taken to Montella's attack-minded system much the same way Lamela has to Zeman's: with zest, guile and pure pace and power. Balzaretti will face arguably one of his toughest tests today and will need someone from midfield or attack to help keep track of this extraordinarily talented player.

Odds & Ends

We have not had the best of times against Fiorentina as Luis Enrique lost both league encounters against them last season, the 2nd (a 2-1 loss at home) which reportedly lead to his decision to leave the club in the summer.

We're a great side though and we've proved it over the last 3 matches as we've only conceded 1 goal in that span since the derby and this without our starting keeper. We've suffered a bit in front of goal, at first failing to come to grips with Lamela's absence, but Destro has stepped up in the biggest way possible for a guy in his position and that's why we've paid so much money for him. I do worry about Khal Pablo as he's been pretty quiet since last scoring against Torino. Having him go out with an injury would be a big blow. In midfield, It will be extremely difficult to drop anyone since everyone who's been given time has done so well, but with DDR coming back and the questions surrounding him,, that's where the focus will be undoubtedly.

This is likely to be our biggest test since the derby and I'm confident we'll rise to the challenge.

2-1 Roma.

All set for an excellent game. Fiorentina have been fantastic and Roma's form is pretty good.

Defence has gone better, much better. And Destro is finally clicking with the attack.

think it will be 3-1 to Roma. Confident about it

Destro doing his best Vucinic impression in the second half. Time for osvaldo or Lopez to come on.

should have been 5-1 if it wasn't for the referee , anyways Grazie Roma
Pjanic played like a boss , Totti exceptional , Destro needs to get his Shit together , osvaldo hugged him and said in his ear : "this is how its done son"

Zeman Finally changed , and realized the need to protect lead to win. DDr also made some nice passes Ie the one to bradley

Between Gio is making mistakes, almost every time he leave the goal , he misses the ball

Great spectacle.

Watching Totti giving another masterclass of a performance made my realise how much i love this game.

What a player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YDcfbElFHsE

Beautiful game and great win from you. Amazing entertainment, one of the best games I've seen this year.

Finally got to sit down and watch the game. Sadly I had a brief do in a District Court Appeal and didn't get it done until the deadline today at 4:30. However, my reward was straight up football porn. Man do I love watching Roma play, and to see Bradley becoming more and more important to such a high quality side only makes me smile even more. Now if Serie A still had 4 Champions League spots, but I think we should be able to pull off a top 3 finish.

You may enjoy this piece on him then, Moto

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/michael-bradley-hitting-stride-with-serie-a-outfit-roma-121312

Also, reports are out that Ruben Olivera was handed a 4 match ban for his stamp on Pjanic.

#justice4Pjanic

McLewis wrote:You may enjoy this piece on him then, Moto

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/michael-bradley-hitting-stride-with-serie-a-outfit-roma-121312

Thanks for the read, I have a feeling Bradley has the potential to be the best player the United States ever created.

Still find it laughable that Bradley couldn't even get a look at Villa while he was there. Oh well, here's hoping Bradley and Roma take their talents to the Champions League next season so they can bring the most entertaining football in the world to the Champions League.