AS Roma vs Fiorentina - Roma coach Luciano Spalletti: We must be better than ever to beat Fiorentina

Posted Thursday, March 03, 2016 by PA

Fiorentina are a "work of art" that Roma coach Luciano Spalletti hopes to vandalise on Friday night.

The teams, both on 53 points - in fourth and third places respectively in Serie A - are preparing to go head to head at the Stadio Olimpico. The prize of victory is a return to the title race, while the loser will be firmly in the sights of fifth-spotted Inter Milan.

Roma enter the capital city showdown on the back of a six-game winning run while Fiorentina are unbeaten in seven having most recently held free-scoring Napoli to a 1-1 draw in Tuscany.

And Spalletti, the tactical artist behind Roma's recent renaissance, thinks he has deconstructed the team from the city of Dante.

He told a pre-match press conference: "Fiorentina are a work of art who play modern, exciting football, as well as being a tough, solid side.

"The Viola are good at anticipating the way the opposition play and tweaking their approach accordingly.

"We'll need to be better than ever against Fiorentina, but I have faith in the lads.

"The boys have been brilliant in the way they've approached our games in terms of mental strength."

Vice-captain Daniele De Rossi is the only absentee from the Giallorossi squad. The midfielder suffered a leg injury against Real Madrid in the Champions League and will miss most of March.

A question mark hangs over the potential participation of skipper Francesco Totti - the veteran striker who has struggled for game time was dropped for Roma's last home game, against Palermo.

On-loan Leicester full-back Yohan Benalouane is currently on Fiorentina's treatment table while Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate serves a one-match ban.

The Tuscans' Portuguese boss Paulo Sousa has described the Olimpico showdown as a six-pointer and thinks the victor will stand a good chance of forcing their way back into the Scudetto picture.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It will not be decisive because there are a lot of games left, but it is definitely a match which is worth six points.

"We are meeting the expectations that we set ourselves and have even raised the bar.

"We believe we can compete with all the other teams that have title-winning ambitions. Since the start of the season we've been right up there among them."

Roma ran out 2-1 winners at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in October, but the man who scored the winner - Ivory Coast forward Gervinho - has since departed for Hebei China Fortune of China.