What to watch
Two league games without scoring can make an attack feel stuck. The numbers tell a more interesting story: Como are still putting 6.8 shots on target per game, second only to Inter. They just have not found the net against Frosinone or Roma.
Sunday brings a defense that has given up 14 goals in six rounds and still has no clean sheet. Fiorentina are conceding goals, but they will know Como have gone quiet in front of goal. That is the tension at the Franchi: one side needs to finish, the other needs to stop making the same game so open.
There should be plenty of one-on-one action. Como attempt 22.1 dribbles a match and Fiorentina 21, the league’s two highest averages. But Como will have to find that threat without Assane Diao: he is absent from the club’s published matchday squad. His 19 completed dribbles lead Serie A. That is a lot of direct running to replace.
Who can give Como that threat?
Jesús Rodríguez and Jayden Addai are in the squad, as are Douvikas, Baturina and Nico Paz. Those names give Cesc options, but the squad list is not a starting lineup. Douvikas could provide a target for the pass or cross after a defender is beaten; Rodríguez and Addai offer ways to stretch the game from wider positions.
Diao’s absence makes the balance more interesting. Whoever starts, Como need someone attacking the space behind the defense as well as someone asking for the ball to feet. Otherwise, Fiorentina can keep stepping toward Paz without worrying enough about what is happening behind them.
The Como view
A take-on gets the crowd moving, but it is only the start of the move. When Como draw a second defender toward the ball, the pass after that is where Nico Paz can become dangerous. He has put 10 shots on target in the first six rounds, tied for the league lead. Give him a clean look and the last two scoreless games start to feel a lot less relevant.
That is the bit I would watch: does the dribbler find the runner inside, or does the move end with another blocked cross? Fiorentina have allowed too many goals already; Como do not need to play a different kind of football. They need the brave bit to lead somewhere.
Bottom line
Kickoff is Sunday, October 18 at 15:00 CEST at the Artemio Franchi. Keep an eye on the first pass after the dribble. If Como get that right, Fiorentina’s shaky start at the back gives them a way back to scoring.