Fiorentina – Cremonese

Fiorentina to a solid win over the league newcomer

Fiorentina's success last season was almost entirely the success of Vincenzo Italiano. He transformed La Spezia the season before last and took the Fiorentinians to the European competition at the first attempt. Even the departure of Dusan Vlahovic did not derail the Florentines' success. The main loss of the summer off-season was the return to Arsenal of loanee Lucas Torreira. The Florentines will also rejoin the league without Odriosola, Piontek and Callejon. Nevertheless, the Italiano have received a very high-quality reinforcement. Thus, Dodo arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk, Mandragora from Juventus, Luka Jovic from Real Madrid and Pierluigi Golini from Atalanta. Quite a few quality reinforcements in problematic positions show that Fiorentina clearly have no intention of slowing down. In the context of the upcoming game, it is worth noting that the Florentines were almost the most "home-based" team in the league last season. The Italian side were second only to Inter on points at home (and even then by just four points). They won 13 of their 19 games at the Artemio Franchi. Cremonese made a direct return to Serie A, finishing second in Italy's second division. "The Grigiorossi missed out on the championship in the last few rounds, trailing Lecce by two points. In typical rookie fashion, they have made a palpable comeback. Many of the creators of last year's success have left the team and there are not enough resources to make big updates. In terms of squad, Cremonese are almost a major relegation contender. There has also been a change at the helm: Massimiliano Alvini, who previously worked at Perugia, will now lead the players, and in his career he has only lifted the club to the eighth spot in Serie B at most. The modest side have immediately become one of the main contenders for relegation. On paper, the Grigiorossi are weaker than almost anyone else. Will they prove such judgments wrong? Not likely. Fiorentina have become a sturdy bunch under the stewardship of the Italiano. The team's reinforcements in the transfer window clearly indicate a desire to compete for even higher positions. Cremonese's first Serie A match in more than 25 years risks being a failure for the club.