Prandelli led Fiorentina to a very important point, but this season there will be no Champions League, and no Europa League for the Viola. While Mihajlovic has taken over, things don’t look very different with Fiorentina for this upcoming season, only two players were bought and only two players were sold/released. Probably the biggest factor that won’t be affecting Fiorentina’s season is Jovetic, the young forward tore some knee ligaments in training some time ago and will be out for about 8 months. This means that Fiorentina will be missing the energy that Jovetic provided, something which could make the Viola suffer this upcoming season.

New signings

Fiorentina have only bought two players this transfer market, and with no Champions League money for this season, the club will be spending less. They bought D’agostino from Udinese, a smart midfielder who can play alongside Montolivo, or play further up the field in a more attacking role. The other signing which joined Fiorentina this summer was Boruc, a Polish goalkeeper from Celtic. Boruc was bought in preparation that maybe Frey could leave for a different club, probably somewhere in the EPL, but the Polish keeper is also a good alternative to when Frey can’t play.

What’s missing

With Jovetic’s injury Fiorentina will probably have to buy a new forward, especially because the forwards in the team are beginning to get old. While Gilardino’s replacement seems to be Babacar, Marchionni and Vargas have no replacements on the wings, and Jovetic’s spot needs to be filled. This could be solved either with Mutu returning to play for Fiorentina, or the Viola buying Giuseppe Rossi or maybe getting Obinna on loan. Rossi could be used behind Gilardino, or he could be played out on the left side, where Vargas currently is. As for Obinna, he’s best used on the wings, and he could be the perfect replacement for Marchionni on the right side.

Formation

Mihajlovic seems to want to stick with Prandelli’s previous 4-2-3-1, and the biggest change between the two coaches will be the attacking style. While Prandelli likes to play a very attacking style with plenty of speed, Mihajlovic might prefer a more counter-attacking style, which waits for the right moment to strike. The starting 11 seems to be very similar to Prandelli’s, Frey in goal with De Silvestri, Gamberini, Felipe, and Pasqual playing in defense, in front of the back-line Montolivo would play alongside D’Agostino, and then you’d have Marchionni on the right, Vargas on the left, with Ljajic supporting Gilardino. The only change that could occur is maybe D’Agostino moving up to play in Ljajic’s place, as a trequartista, where he was played in a friendly recently.

Mihajlovic has a big challenge ahead of him, he’ll have to please a group of fans which was used to Champions League and strong performances in the Serie A. Without Jovetic, the team will be missing an important player which got them out of some tight situations last season, hopefully Ljajic can bloom and become an important player for them, or D’Agostino will have to do his best playing as a number 10. This season the team looks very similar to the team which arrived 11th last season, and maybe the team might suffer again with a new coach and few new players.

What do you think about Fiorentina’s chances in the Serie A? Can they regain the Champions League? Share your thoughts below!