Fiorentina vs Benevento

Fiorentina vs Benevento Preview

There’s something fitting about Fiorentina opening their centenary season with a Coppa Italia tie under the lights at the Franchi. A hundred years of history, a new gaffer in the dugout, and a chance to set the tone before Serie A comes calling. Fabio Grosso takes charge of his first competitive game as Viola boss on Friday evening, and while nobody expects Benevento to be a genuine threat on paper, the occasion matters. Florence hasn’t exactly been a happy place recently, and the fan base needs something to feel good about after what was, by any measure, a grim twelve months.

Last season was a mess, plain and simple. Stefano Pioli was shown the door in early November after ten league games without a win, Daniele Galloppa stepped in briefly, Paolo Vanoli steadied things just enough to avoid the worst, and all of it played out against the backdrop of Rocco Commisso’s death and his son Giuseppe taking the reins. Finishing 15th in Serie A is the kind of campaign you want to bury quickly. Grosso arrives with genuine credibility, having steered Sassuolo from Serie B into a comfortable Serie A finish, and he’s signed up until 2028. The project is real. But projects need a starting point, and Friday night is it.

Benevento, meanwhile, are here on merit. They romped through Serie C last season, Floro Flores took over mid-campaign and sparked 17 straight positive results, and they capped it all with the Supercoppa di Serie C. Promotion back to Serie B is theirs, and a Coppa Italia run into the round of 64 is not a bad way to carry that momentum into the new era. They’ve already shown they can fight back too, coming from 2-0 down to beat Ravenna 5-3 in the preliminary round. That tells you something about their character, even if it also tells you something about their defensive reliability.

Fiorentina vs Benevento Form

Fiorentina’s competitive form is, effectively, a blank slate. This is Grosso’s first game in charge and the club’s first official fixture of the season, so there’s no recent league data to lean on. What we do know is that preseason has been a getting-to-know-you exercise, with new faces arriving and the squad still building cohesion. Franco Mastantuono, their headline summer signing from Real Madrid, has only just returned to full training after individual work. That tells you the squad isn’t fully firing yet, but a home Coppa Italia tie against third-tier opposition is exactly the kind of game where being a bit undercooked shouldn’t matter too much.

Benevento’s form coming in is actually something to talk about. That Serie C title charge under Floro Flores was genuinely impressive, and winning 17 on the bounce is not something you do by accident. It takes organisation, belief, and a group that knows how to win ugly when it needs to. The Ravenna game in this very competition showed they can score goals from difficult situations, netting five including three in what sounds like a chaotic second half. But conceding three in a game they won 5-3 also reinforces that their defensive structure, especially against better opposition, could be their undoing. Fiorentina will have better quality in the final third than anything Benevento faced in the preliminary round.

The gap between a Serie A squad, even one that finished 15th last season, and a freshly promoted Serie B side is significant. Fiorentina have players who cost more individually than Benevento’s entire wage bill. Form as a pure metric is hard to apply here because the contexts are so different, but the quality differential is hard to ignore and should ultimately be the deciding factor.

Fiorentina vs Benevento Head to Head

The two clubs have met five times competitively, and Fiorentina lead that head-to-head with three wins to Benevento’s one. The most recent encounter is directly relevant here given it was also a Coppa Italia tie, with the Viola winning 2-1 back in December 2021. That game is a decent reference point because it shows Benevento can cause problems even in cup ties against better opposition, but ultimately the quality gap tells in the end. Fiorentina have generally done what is expected of them in these meetings.

There’s an added layer of interest this time with Cristiano Dalle Mura and Eduardo Pierozzi on the Benevento side, both of them academy products from the Fiorentina system. Whether that translates to any extra motivation is hard to quantify, but it gives the evening a bit more texture than your average round of 64 tie. The Franchi will be familiar ground to both of them in a way it won’t be for most of their teammates.

Fiorentina vs Benevento Lineups

Grosso has a reasonably clean bill of health going into this one, which is a decent start. He’s expected to line up in a 4-3-2-1 shape, and the selection call of note is Christ Oulai in midfield, back from a fever and likely to start, which pushes Nicola Fagioli to the bench. Mastantuono won’t start despite it being his 19th birthday on matchday. He’s only just rejoined full training and Grosso is sensibly expected to bring him on as a substitute rather than throw him straight in. It’s the right call, and it also gives the Franchi crowd something to look forward to when he does come on.

Floro Flores is dealing with a significantly longer injury list. Romano, Schimmenti, Simonetti, Ricci, Donatiello and Del Gaudio are all out, and Tumminello serves the last game of a suspension. That’s a lot of players missing for a squad that isn’t exactly flush with depth at this level. The Stregoni will likely set up in their 4-2-3-1 with Salvemini leading the line, Dalle Mura and Pierozzi at the back, and new arrivals Beruatto and Sernicola continuing to find their feet in the defensive unit. Their backline is going to need a big night.

Fiorentina vs Benevento Tactics

Grosso’s 4-3-2-1 should give Fiorentina control in the middle of the park, with two attacking midfielders tucked in behind the striker to link play and combine in tight spaces. Against a Benevento side that will need to sit compact and defend their shape, the two 10s operating between the lines should be key. The Viola will want to get the ball wide and create crossing opportunities, and if Mastantuono does come on, that kind of dynamic movement is exactly what he brings. The system is designed to dominate possession and create numerical overloads in the final third, which against a third-tier side should work.

Benevento’s 4-2-3-1 under Floro Flores has been built around staying organised and transitioning quickly when they win the ball. That served them brilliantly in Serie C where they had the quality advantage, but here the dynamic flips completely. They’ll need their double pivot to do a serious defensive job, and they’ll need their front four to hold the ball well enough to give the team a rest when they do get possession. The comeback against Ravenna showed they have attacking personality, but chasing a game against Serie A players is a different proposition entirely. Defensively, Dalle Mura and Pierozzi’s familiarity with the Franchi surroundings might actually help, but they’ll need everyone pulling together from the first whistle.

Fiorentina vs Benevento Prediction and Betting Tips

Fiorentina should win this comfortably. Grosso will want a confident performance to open his Coppa Italia account and set a marker for what his team expects of itself this season. The squad has the quality to put Benevento away without breaking sweat, the home crowd will create a decent atmosphere for what is a milestone night, and Benevento’s injury list makes it even harder to see them causing an upset. Their 5-3 win over Ravenna proves they can score, but conceding three times in that game against lower-level opposition is a red flag against a Fiorentina side that needs to find goals and confidence going into the season.

With Benevento likely to get at least one chance on the break given their attacking instincts, both teams to score is a real possibility. Backing Fiorentina to win and both teams to score feels like the right way to frame this one, capturing the home win that looks nailed on while accounting for Benevento’s willingness to push forward even when outclassed.