Roma vs. Fiorentina to end matchday one

The curtain comes down on the opening matchday of the Serie A season with the clash between Roma and Fiorentina. The Giallorossi face La Viola just as they did at the start of the 2021/22 season, when they won 3–1. While Giampiero Gasperini will be hoping to repeat that result, Fabio Grosso will be looking for a positive result, ideally a victory, after draws in his last two opening-day fixtures against Cagliari and Parma.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

There have been 101 official meetings between the two sides in Rome: 50 Roma wins (most recent 4-0, Serie A 2025/26), 32 draws (most recent 1-1, Serie A 2023/24) and 19 Fiorentina wins (most recent 2-0, Serie A 2017/18).

Fiorentina have not beaten Roma at the Olimpico since 7 April 2018 (Roma-Fiorentina 0-2, Serie A, goals from Benassi and Simeone): in the following 8 meetings, Roma have recorded 6 wins and there have been 2 draws.

Roma and Fiorentina meet on the opening matchday for the 11th time: in the previous 10 meetings (8 in Rome and 2 in Florence), Roma have won 6 times and Fiorentina 4. In 1968/69, Fiorentina won 2-1 at home and went on to win their second and most recent Scudetto at the end of the season.

DID YOU KNOW?

Roma finished 3rd in Serie A 2025/26: the Giallorossi return to the Champions League, having last appeared in the competition in 2018/19. Roma had not finished 3rd in Serie A since 2017/18, with Di Francesco in charge.

Roma are unbeaten in their last 7 Serie A matches: 6 wins and 1 draw. Their last defeat came against Inter on 5 April 2026 (Inter-Roma 5-2).

Roma have avoided defeat on the pitch on the opening matchday of Serie A since 11 September 2011 (Roma-Cagliari 1-2): since then, 8 wins and 6 draws. In 2020/21, Roma drew 0-0 away to Verona, but the result was subsequently changed to a 0-3 defeat by the Sporting Judge due to the improper selection of Diawara, who had not been included in the club's Under-22 list.

Roma have scored in 17 consecutive Serie A matches: 36 goals scored during this run, with their last goalless outing coming on 2 February 2026 (Udinese-Roma 1-0).

Roma have scored in 15 consecutive home matches in all competitions: 33 goals scored during this run, with their last goalless game coming on 30 November 2025 (Roma-Napoli 0-1, Serie A).

Fiorentina are making their 89th appearance in Serie A since the introduction of the single-round format: they are the 5th Italian club with the most top-flight appearances, behind only Inter (94), Juventus and Roma (93), and Milan (92).

Fiorentina finished 15th in Serie A 2025/26: 42 points collected, their lowest finish since 2020/21 (13th place with 40 points). No team had ever survived after failing to win any of their first 15 matches.

Fiorentina have been unbeaten on the opening matchday since 2021/22: their last defeat came against Roma (Roma-Fiorentina 3-1), with a brace from Veretout, Mkhitaryan and Milenkovic scoring for the Viola.

Fiorentina have won 8 of their last 9 official matches in all competitions: 4 wins and 4 draws. Their only defeat came against Roma (Roma-Fiorentina 4-0, Serie A).

Fiorentina advanced to the Coppa Italia Round of 16: in their first official match of the season, they eliminated Benevento with a 4-1 win at the Franchi, with goals from Gudmundsson, Kean, Ranieri and Ndour for the Viola, and Lamesta for the visitors.

COACHES and PLAYERS

Gian Piero Gasperini and Fabio Grosso will meet for the 4th time in an official match: in the previous 3 meetings, the current Roma manager has won all three. Grosso's teams have never scored in the 270 minutes played.

Gian Piero Gasperini is the longest-serving coach in Serie A 2026/27: born in 1958, he is the coach with the most Serie A appearances on the bench (637), just 7 behind 4th place in the all-time rankings for Serie A since the introduction of the single-round format, currently held by Nils Liedholm, who won Roma's second Scudetto in 1982/83.

Paulo Dybala is the most prolific active Serie A player in August: with 9 goals, he has scored more than any other player currently playing in the Italian top flight during the month. Overall, Ciro Immobile leads with 14, followed by Dusan Vlahovic (11) and Andrea Belotti (10).

No player has scored more Serie A goals than Donyell Malen (14) in the 2026 calendar year.

Mile Svilar played every minute of Serie A 2025/26: 38 appearances out of 38, alongside Laurientè (Sassuolo), Colombo (Genoa), Butez and Douvikas (Como), Falcone (Lecce), Caprile and Adopo (Cagliari).

No player made more recoveries than Evan Ndicka (269) in the 2025/26 season.

No player scored more headed goals than Mateo Pellegrino (6) in the 2025/26 season.

Only Nikola Krstović recorded a higher xG total (15.2) than Moise Kean (14.9) in the 2025/26 season.

DISCIPLINE 

Suspended: none 

Cautioned: none 

REFEREE

MARCENARO (LO CICERO – ROSSI C.) IV: FABBRI VAR: ABISSO AVAR: GIUA

UPCOMING MATCHES

Lecce-Roma (31/8, 18.30)

Fiorentina-Frosinone (29/8, 18.30)

(Photo Getty Images)