Having started to slip down the Serie A standings, Fiorentina will try to get back on track by beating rock-bottom Monza when the two teams meet on Monday.

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After a streak of eight straight wins in the Italian top flight, Fiorentina have lost three of their last four Serie A matches - drawing the other - while conceding eight goals.

Most recently, they were beaten 3-0 by title contenders Napoli in Florence, which saw them suffer consecutive league defeats at Stadio Franchi for the first time since late 2023.

Though the Viola are still in the mix for a top-four finish, their scintillating streak has quite clearly tailed off, so Raffaele Palladino will be keen to take advantage of two fairly kind fixtures in the space of a week.

Before playing host to a faltering Torino side next weekend, Fiorentina must visit Monza, where Palladino started his senior coaching career.

He managed the Brianzoli in 70 Serie A matches, twice keeping them afloat in the top tier before such impressive work caught the eye of clubs higher up the Calcio food chain.

Now, he returns to the scene of many happy memories, hoping to claim maximum points and deepen his old club's woes.

After a dramatic 2-2 draw in September's reverse fixture, Monza have faced Fiorentina seven times between Serie A and Serie B, winning only once.

Only a stoppage-time leveller from Robin Gosens denied them victory when the sides met in Tuscany earlier this season, and since then points have been hard to come by for the Biancorossi.

Although the tough decision was taken to sack Palladino's successor Alessandro Nesta and bring in Salvatore Bocchetti last month, the squad have failed to respond to a fresh face in the dugout, remaining rooted to the foot of the table.

After ending 2024 with a painful 2-1 defeat to Parma, when conceding a late goal again cost them dearly, the Brianza-based club were beaten by another relegation rival last time out.

Despite leading through an early Gianluca Caprari penalty, Bocchetti's side let that lead slip, and when Danilo D'Ambrosio was then sent off they could not recover and ultimately slumped to a 2-1 defeat.

Including a tame Coppa Italia exit at the start of December, Monza have now lost all of their last six games, leaving them with a huge mountain to climb during the second half of the season.

History suggests they may already be doomed: over the past 20 years, only two of 13 teams that earned 10 points or fewer at the halfway stage have survived - Crotone in 2017 and Cagliari in 2008.

Monza possible starting lineup:

Turati; Izzo, Mari, Carboni; Pereira, Sensi, Bondo, Birindelli; Caprari, Maldini; Djuric

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Mandragora; Colpani, Gudmundsson, Sottil; Kean