A night of rotation. Piccoli is there, but Gud isn’t yet. Fortini and Parisi are on the wings. And Viti (re)emerges in defense.

The match at the Allianz Stadion against Rapid Vienna is a huge deal for Fiorentina, yet Stefano Pioli won’t give up on rotating his squad. This was immediately clear from the names of those called up who (didn’t) leave for Austria, and even more so from the coach’s own admission, which clarified that the starting eleven facing the Biancoverdi tonight will be significantly different from the one that played in the last few league games: a matter of a congested schedule. Kean and Gosens, for starters, remained in Florence: the former to carry out individual training (but the striker is fine and will start against Bologna), the latter because he is suffering from the flu (though the German is also dealing with the after-effects of the flexor problem he suffered last week). Therefore, with the exception of De Gea, Marí, and Mandragora, the feeling is that tonight’s lineup will feature all new players compared to last Sunday’s match at San Siro.

In defense, Comuzzo and Viti are likely to revitalize after their recent benchings (the 2005-born player hasn’t started in over a month, while the former Empoli player has only played 14 minutes in the last two months or so), while in midfield the shakeup is likely to be even more dramatic: Fortini won over everyone at Viola Park and is a candidate for a starting spot on the right flank, while at the other end, given Gosens’ absence, Parisi will be called upon to man the left flank. In the center, Mandragora is expected to take the reins, with Ndour and either Sohm or Fagioli (the Swiss is favored) completing the lineup. Finally, in attack, only Piccoli is guaranteed a spot: to complete the attacking duo (in the classic starting 3-5-2), Dzeko has the edge over Gudmundsson.

Andrea Giannattasio