Juventus visit Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday night, November 8, with kick-off at 7:45pm UK time. Our full preview, team news, predicted lineups and score prediction are below.
Match Preview
Fiorentina and Juventus are old rivals, and they send Serie A into the international break with a game at the Franchi on Sunday night. The Viola are still waiting for their first home win of the season, and Juve are trailing Italy’s top six.
In contrast to their domestic woes, Juve have lost just one of their last 11 UEFA games and scored at least twice in nine. They kept that going on Thursday night in Alkmaar, where they had to survive a late siege to win 2-1 at AZ, with goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Teun Koopmeiners, who inevitably scored against his old club. That is a third win from four Europa League games and puts them fifth in the table, well set to reach the knockout stage without a playoff.
The league is harder. They have taken only 17 points from their first 10 matches, which keeps the pressure on Luciano Spalletti, who has just completed a year in charge. After losing 2-0 at Genoa, Juve beat his former club Napoli last weekend, with stunning goals from Kerim Alajbegovic and Jeremie Boga making for an unconvincing win. Juve are seventh with an injury-hit squad, 11 points behind surprise leaders Lazio and also behind newly promoted Frosinone. They have lost two of their last four league away games and won just once in their last seven visits to the Franchi.
Fiorentina are unbeaten in four against Juve, including a memorable 3-0 home win in March 2025. There is no love lost between the clubs, and the rivalry went up a level in 1990 when Roberto Baggio left Florence for Turin. Several others have since made the same move.
The Viola look as though they are turning a corner. They have taken four points from their last two games, a home draw with Atalanta and a 4-2 win at Sassuolo on Monday. They trailed 1-0 before half-time in that game, but Mateo Pellegrino, Alieu Njie and Franco Mastantuono all scored. They are still 16th on eight points and have brought back former interim coach Paolo Vanoli after another poor start. They also have only two points from their first five home games, having started last season with a seven-game winless run there.
Team News
Spalletti may want to rotate after Thursday’s trip to the Netherlands, but his injury crisis continues. Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Francisco Conceicao, Kamil Grabara, Zeki Celik, Nico Gonzalez and captain Manuel Locatelli are all out, and Weston McKennie is in some doubt. Andrea Cambiaso is a late absentee with muscle fatigue, Jeff Ekhator is back, but Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade will hope to start. They have five goals between them in four Europa League games but just one in Serie A.
Real Madrid loanee Mastantuono has four league goals for Fiorentina and should link up with Pellegrino and Njie in attack. The hosts are without injured trio Fabiano Parisi, Arthur Atta and Marin Pongracic, and Luca Ranieri’s foot problem will be assessed. If he is out, Vanoli will have only two senior centre-backs, Viery and ex-Juve man Radu Dragusin.
Probable Starting XI’s
Fiorentina possible XI (4-3-3): De Gea; Jimenez, Dragusin, Viery, Mario; Ndour, Fagioli, Oulai; Mastantuono, Pellegrino, Njie
Juventus possible XI (4-3-2-1): Vicario; Kalulu, Bremer, Lucumi, Cabal; Sarr, Luiz, Koopmeiners; Kolo Muani, Alajbegovic; Woltemade
Prediction
Both teams have been too inconsistent to match their pre-season aims, so this one is hard to call. Juve will get a hostile reception in Florence, but the hosts tend to wilt in front of their own fans, so the three points are likely to go back to Turin.
Prediction: Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus
