Fiorentina midfielder Borja Valero. (Photo : Getty Images)
Contending squad ACF Fiorentina (9-3-2, 29 points) and middling team Udinese Calcio (5-6-3, 18 points) square off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on December 6th, Sunday for a 2015-2016 Serie A season matchup.
Fiorentina had been undefeated in five straight games, but the last two are both draws to let them settle at the third spot in the league table behind new league leaders SSC Napoli and Inter Milan.
Viola settled for a 1-1 tie with Sassuolo last Monday at the Mapei Stadium - Città del Tricolore, as reported by Goal.
Midfielder Borja Valero opened the scoring right at the fifth minute of the match, but I Neroverdi striker Sergio Floccari leveled the count three minutes before the halftime break.
After a goalless second half, both teams earned a point to add in the overall standings with the draw.
Meanwhile, Udinese managed to string a pair of wins during its last two games, with the latest a high-scoring 3-2 victory over reeling squad Chievo last Sunday at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi in Verona, as per SkySports.
Mussi Volanti forward Alberto Paloschi drew first blood at the 26th, but an own goal from defender Nicolas Frey tied it at 1-all three minutes before the interval.
Zebrette striker Cyril Thereau put his team up by one at the 46th before Chievo striker Roberto Inglese equalized it again at the 72nd.
Finally, another strike from Thereau at the 80th sealed the win for Bianconeri Friuliani.
The predicted result is a tough 1-0 win for Fiorentina. The Lilies are keen on bouncing back from two consecutive draws with a victory over Udinese on Sunday.
Fiorentina starting lineup (3-4-2-1 formation): Tatarusanu; Roncaglia, Gonzalo, Astori; Bernarderschi, Badelj, Vecino, Pasqual; Ilicic, Valero; Rossi
Udinese starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Karnezis; Piris, Danilo, Felipe; Widmer, Agyemang-Badu, Lodi, Iturra, Edenilson; Thereau, Aguirre
