Fiorentina hoping coaching change will bring luck

MILAN, Italy:

Fiorentina hopes a new coach also bring them luck this weekend after becoming the third Serie A team in just over a week to make a managerial change.

When Patrick Vieira was fired last week, new coach Roberto Murgita steered Genoa to their first win of the season on Monday.

Two days after his appointment, Luciano Spalletti led Juventus to a 2-1 win over Cremonese last weekend.

Fiorentina fired Stefano Pioli on Tuesday with the Viola winless through 10 rounds and at the bottom of Serie A. Former Roma captain and coach Daniele De Rossi was appointed on Thursday, but he's suspended from Sunday's game because he was sent off in his last match in charge of Roma a year ago.

Instead, interim coach Daniele Galloppa will manage Fiorentina at Genoa.

Three of the four Serie A front-runners face tricky encounters.

League leaders Napoli travel to Bologna, who haven't lost a match in nearly two months and sit three points below the top four.

The two Milan clubs and Roma are all just below the defending champions. Roma host Udinese on Sunday, shortly after Napoli's match and just before Inter Milan play Lazio at San Siro.

AC Milan could already be on top by then as they have what appears to be an easier game at lowly Parma on Saturday. Parma are just a point above the relegation zone.

Juventus host Torino in a derby match on Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Rafael Leao is showing the kind of form that saw him named Serie A MVP four seasons ago. Leao recovered from missing the opening month of the season with a calf injury and scored in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday to take his tally to three goals and an assist in his last four matches.

Jamie Vardy has two goals in his past three matches for Cremonese.

Key Inter forward Marcus Thuram should return to Serie A after more than a month out with a hamstring injury. Thuram went on as a 71st-minute substitute in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Kairat in the Champions League.

United States international Christian Pulisic has returned to training following his hamstring injury and could feature for AC Milan against Parma, likely as a second-half substitute.

- AP