Fiorentina face a tough assignment on Saturday evening against high-flying Lazio despite holding supposed home advantage at their Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The hosts have managed to pick up just the one win out of their last seven matches overall in Serie A.
That rare success came in the shape of a 2-1 win away from home at Hellas Verona but defeats to AC Milan, Atalanta and Sassuolo have prevented Fiorentina from lifting themselves out of the bottom half of the Italian top flight and the hosts accordingly sit in 14th place and just four points above the relegation zone.
Indeed, the bigger picture indicates that wins in Serie A have been hard to come by for Fiorentina as the hosts have managed to record just three wins out of their last 15 matches overall, two of these wins being achieved away from home.
Results at home have also nose-dived in recent times as Fiorentina are without a win from their last five matches, losing three of these five with defeats against Roma, AC Milan and Atalanta.
Lazio sit in 6th place and hold a commanding nine-point cushion above 7th placed Roma who have a game in hand but a win away at Fiorentina on Saturday evening would virtually seal a top six finish for Lazio here.
After suffering back-to-back defeats to Bologna and Juventus towards the end of February and early March, Lazio have since responded in dramatic fashion by winning seven of their subsequent eight matches overall and this upturn in form has helped secure the visitors at least a top six finish.
However, with just five points separating Lazio from 4th placed AC Milan, an even greater prize of possible Champions League football next season is still on the cards for Lazio, and having won two of their last three away from home with wins collected at Udinese and Hellas Verona, the visitors stand a decent chance of continuing their push at Fiorentina.
In addition, Lazio have held the upper hand in previous exchanges against Fiorentina, winning six of the last seven meetings between the two sides along with being unbeaten in their last three visits to the Stadio Artemio Franchi, winning two of these three clashes, so Lazio look in good shape to get a vital result here.
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