The Viola fresh off a resounding win against Cremona that lifted them off the bottom of the table, they face a tougher test next in the capital against Lazio. Ninth-placed Aguirre are on a three-game winless streak (draws with Cremones and Udinese before losing at home to Napoli on Sunday) and are dealing with a turmoil of their own, stemming mainly from Maurizio Sarri’s ownership issues over the club’s transfer policy and repeated absences.
The competition will be Wednesday, 7 January 2026exist 19:45 GMT/2:45pm ET Held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It will be cold in the city, but not freezing, although the wind may make you feel that way. Expect plenty of shots of people on the bench or in the stands wearing heavy coats, peering out from deep under the hood.
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Three things to note
1. Which winger plays on which side?
My guess is that Salomon Manor gets his first start in Paul Vanoli’s new 4-3-3 formation. The question is whether he will play on the left or the right, where Albert Gudmundsson has been stationed over the past few weeks. Solomon initially appeared on the right wing but did not make much of an impact. His cross came from the left and set up Moise Kean’s dramatic winner.
The question may not be who is better suited to play on the left, but more about who is less suited to playing on the right. Gudmundsson has often played on the right during his career, but not so much since his time at AZ Alkmaar. Three managers have struggled to get him to perform well, so keeping him on the left wing where he might be able to establish some continuity may be more important than any upgrade Solomon could provide on the left. Regardless, Paolo Vanoli can at least make simple adjustments to situations in the game by swapping the two.
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This is a bit confusing because the defensive infrastructure is designed to compensate for Gudmundsson’s weakness on the left wing. Having him there with Robin Gosens is a painful prospect, but having him on the right isn’t much better. Vanoli likes to add a defender on this side to maintain balance. My guess is that we’ll now see Albert on the left, giving Vanori an easy adjustment on the fly, but he can jump in any direction.
2. Defend a large area
This comes back to the previous point. Fiorentina have looked anything but solid this year, both personnel-wise and tactically, but swapping full-backs like Fabiano Parisi or Niccolò Fortini for a pure attacker in Salomon would have a profound impact. The main issue is Robin Gosens, whose main impact is going forward. Luca Ranieri defended solidly, providing winger cover in front of him, and Goose was mostly in the box at this point, not the one-on-one player you want with the opposition winger.
Gudmundsson and Gosens share the left, which is an open invitation for Lazio to cook there, but I’m worried about the right as well. Dodo’s physical limitations mean he is vulnerable defensively, something Vanori alleviates by placing another defender in front of him (Fabiano Parisi or Niccolò Fortini). Solomon won’t provide the same defensive cover. This means that the midfielders will have very limited strength and will be tasked with blocking the midfield from Sarri’s quick passes, while also needing to shuttle out wide to help the full-backs.
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This tilts the midfield as Sher Ndour is fit for the run but Rolando Mandragora is not. 4-2-3-1, with Guðmundsson as number 10 and Parisi/Fortini on the right, could be a solution, but would exclude Mandrake. Basically, Vanori is trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle using pieces that don’t actually connect. He will stick with a 4-3-3 for now and hope everyone can find some way to make it work, but it all looks fragile, as is usual for Fiorentina I guess.
3. Surrey plugging the leak
Lazio have quite a few absences to deal with. Central defenders Samuel Gigot and Patrick were injured. Forwards Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Braye Dia are both at the Africa Cup of Nations. Adam Marusic and Tijani Noslin are suspended. Tati Castellanos has just been sold to West Ham United, while Matteo Guendouzi may be on his way to Fenerbahce. Maurizio Sarri ran around like a Looney Tunes character, placing buckets under a leaky roof and looking up in despair as yet another shingle fell from the roof.
My guess is that he will choose Pedro as the No. 9 in a 4-3-3 formation, but it could just as easily be Matteo Cancellieri or Mattia Zaccagni. These are different types of wingers, so I expect them to be able to move around, either deep or wide, rather than fighting against Fiorentina’s centre-backs. The Viola defense needs good communication to complete these marking tasks, but they do well by winning long balls to keep Lazio out. This may be less of an issue in Sarri’s system than with other coaches, but don’t expect consistent fluidity from his team.
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possible lineup
Lazio (4-3-3): Providel; Pellegrini, Romagnoli, Gila, Lazzari; Rovella, Cataldi, Basic; Zacani, Pedro, Cansellieri ||| Fiorentina (4-3-3): De Gea; Gosens, Pangracic, Comuzzo, Dodo; Endor, Fagioli, Mandolola; Gudmundsson, Kean, Solomon
TED Memorial Blind Guessing Club
Lazio are favored, but not as much as I thought. Sure, Aguirre is in a mini-crisis, but Fiorentina are in a longer, more serious crisis and are yet to win away from home in Serie A. If I were a betting man, I’d bet quite a bit of money on the hosts here. I’d also like to knock the table for the next team: Lazio haven’t scored more than one goal in a game since November, while Fiorentina have only achieved the feat three times all year. This could be a one-goal contest and if either side scores twice, the problem should be settled.
However, since I’m not a betting man, I think this was a 1-0 defeat for the visiting team. As unlikely as it sounds, the Viola may have a better atmosphere at the moment and not have most of their eleven missing for various reasons. I’d call Keane for scoring in two games in a row, this time coming from behind and finishing, but I’m also expecting a game of pretty poor quality. Also keep an eye on the referees: Simon Souza has been awarded a penalty or a red card on average every game in Serie A this year, including Mattia Vitti’s second yellow card against Inter Milan earlier this year.
Forza Viola!