Fiorentina vs Como Preview: Time to Find Our Feet Again

Florence is a wonderful place to spend a Sunday. If you haven't been, I warmly recommend it.

It is a less forgiving place to arrive for a football match, while carrying Wednesday’s disappointment.

Como go to the Artemio Franchi after losing 3–2 at Feyenoord, with Assane Diao’s injury making an already difficult evening more expensive. The temptation is to look at Fiorentina’s position near the bottom of Serie A and see a convenient opportunity to recover.

There is an opportunity here. We will have to earn it.

The Viola need a response of their own, and they have had considerably more time to prepare one. For Cesc Fàbregas, this is an early test of whether Como can handle the ordinary business of a league campaign while European football keeps interrupting the week.

When is Fiorentina vs Como?

Fiorentina host Como on Sunday, 18 October 2026, at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, in Serie A’s seventh round. Kick-off is 15:00 CEST in Italy, 14:00 BST in the UK, 09:00 EDT in New York and 08:00 CDT in Chicago. The fixture time is listed by Sky Sport.

For those of us following from across the Atlantic, this is breakfast football. Whether the coffee needs to be especially strong probably depends on the first twenty minutes.

Two teams looking for a better afternoon

Como finished the sixth round seventh, with 11 points. Fiorentina were nineteenth, with four. Those positions describe the starts they have made, rather than guaranteeing what happens next.

The Viola lost 2–1 at Genoa last weekend. Their return to Paolo Vanoli had initially brought encouragement, including a league win at Venezia and progress against Pisa in the Coppa Italia, but the latest defeat has left them searching again. Como, meanwhile, have followed the league loss at Frosinone with a goalless draw against Roma and Wednesday’s European setback. Sports Mole’s preview sets out both teams’ recent form.

What bothers me most about Como’s last two league games is the blank in the goals column. The quality is there. The next step is to make it count often enough that every defensive mistake does not feel decisive.

Fiorentina will see their own opening. Como returned from the Netherlands during the night and trained at Mozzate on Thursday, according to Espansione TV. Recovery time matters, particularly when the next opponent can spend the week working on how to hurt you.

Como team news: a bigger responsibility for Douvikas

Moise Kean is expected to miss the return to his former club as he continues to struggle with the effects of the knocks sustained on international duty. Diao is also expected to be unavailable after the muscular problem that forced him off at De Kuip. As of Friday morning, there was no publicly confirmed diagnosis or recovery timetable for Diao; Tuttosport’s latest report says he will miss Florence, while some other previews still list him as a doubt.

The sensible expectation is that Como will prepare to play without both.

That makes Tasos Douvikas the natural choice to lead the attack. His late goal in Rotterdam was too late to rescue a point, but his presence gives the players behind him a clear reference: someone to occupy the centre-backs and attack the spaces around the six-yard box.

I would like to see Nico Paz back behind him. The false-nine approach has its uses, but with Diao’s running likely unavailable, Como need to be careful about removing another forward threat from the last line of the defence.

Jesús Rodríguez looks a strong candidate to start, with Martin Baturina another likely attacking selection. Jean Butez is widely expected to return in goal. The choices around Perrone, Luis Milla and Lucas Da Cunha remain less settled, as do Álex Valle and Kaiki at left-back. Gazzetta’s probable line-ups underline how much remains open before the final team news.

Fiorentina’s threat starts with Mastantuono

Franco Mastantuono leads Fiorentina’s Serie A scoring with three goals, followed by Mateo Pellegrino on two and Álex Jiménez on one, according to Tattico’s Fiorentina goalscorer statistics.

Those figures are a useful correction to the idea that a struggling side has nobody to worry about. Mastantuono has provided half the goals in that list. Como cannot let the league table dictate how closely they attend to him.

He underwent surgery on a fractured bone in his left hand this week, but Fiorentina’s medical statement, reproduced by Goal, said he would return to group training and be available for this match.

Fabiano Parisi remains absent. Arthur Atta is also expected to miss out with an abdominal problem, although some previews retain the doubtful label. Gazzetta’s report anticipates his absence and describes Vanoli’s choice between a three-man midfield and a more attacking arrangement.

Pellegrino and Beto are competing for the centre-forward role. Whatever the final selection, Como must avoid giving Fiorentina’s attackers an afternoon of running towards an exposed defence.

Where Como can win it

The most interesting passage in Viola Nation’s preview concerns the home midfield. Their assessment is that Nicolò Fagioli and Christ Inao Oulaï struggled to share responsibilities against Genoa, while Cher Ndour supplied valuable running beyond the ball.

From our side, that makes coordinated pressure particularly attractive. Close down the player receiving the ball while also blocking his easiest pass, and Como can force difficult decisions. Send one tired player charging forward alone, and Fiorentina may simply pass around him.

The distinction matters after a European away trip. We need to choose the moments to press well enough that the whole team can participate.

When Como have possession, I would like Rodríguez to stretch the pitch and Douvikas to keep the centre-backs occupied. That should give Nico and Baturina more useful spaces to receive. Diao’s absence cannot be solved by asking somebody else to reproduce him exactly; it requires the remaining attackers to combine their different strengths.

There is also a simple lesson from Rotterdam: if we score, the next few minutes require concentration. An away lead should give Como time to make the opponent uncomfortable. It should not immediately become an invitation to exchange chances.

Possible starting line-ups

These are provisional selections, with fitness updates and the final training sessions still to come.

Fiorentina, possible 4–3–3: De Gea; Álex Jiménez, Drăgușin, Ranieri, Valdepeñas; Ndour, Fagioli, Oulaï; Mastantuono, Pellegrino, Njie.

Como, possible 4–2–3–1: Butez; Yan Couto, Ramón, Chalobah, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Jesús Rodríguez, Nico Paz, Baturina; Douvikas.

These combinations broadly follow Sports Mole and Eurosport’s selection outlook, although Eurosport favours Milla over Perrone. Caqueret is another option for Como; Fiorentina could change both their midfield structure and personnel.

Sofia’s prediction: Fiorentina 1–1 Como

Viola Nation backs a home win. Sports Mole goes for Como. Both outcomes are easy enough to imagine, which is usually a good sign that this will be a very long afternoon.

I am going with Fiorentina 1–1 Como.

The injuries and workload make me nervous, but I still trust Como’s ability to create chances against a side searching for defensive and midfield stability. Douvikas gives us a focal point, and there is enough invention around him to make a Fiorentina clean sheet unlikely. Meantime, Como's defense has been less than stellar and I'm not confident of keeping a clean sheet either. This one smells like a draw.

As long as the players can keep Manchester United out of their heads, that is.