Fiorentina’s 2021-22 Serie A schedule is here

In news that flew slightly under the radar the other week, Serie A announced that starting in 2020-21, the league would follow an asymmetric scheduling system similar to the Premier League, La Liga, and others. This means that the second half of the schedule will not follow the same order as the first, albeit with the caveat that two clubs cannot play the second leg within eight matchdays of the first. Keep in mind that the first Serie A match will not be Fiorentina’s first competitive match of the season- it was announced today that the Viola will take on Ascoli in the round of 64 in the Coppa Italia on August 15th. Fun fact: Ascoli’s mister is Andrea Sottil, the father of our own Riccardo.

This adds some wrinkles to analyzing Fiorentina’s schedule, although this far in advance it’s a fruitless task anyways. However, I’ll still give it a brief go. But first, here are Fiorentina’s fixtures for the upcoming season.

Week 1- (Weekend of) August 22, 2021: @ Roma

Week 2- August 29, 2021: Torino

Week 3- September 12, 2021: @ Atalanta

Week 4- September 19, 2021: @ Genoa

Week 5- (Midweek) September 22, 2021: Inter Milan

Week 6- September 26, 2021: @ Udinese

Week 7- October 3, 2021: Napoli

Week 8- October 17, 2021: @ Venezia

Week 9- October 24, 2021: Cagliari

Week 10- (Midweek) October 27, 2021: @ Lazio

Week 11- October 31, 2021: Spezia

Week 12- November 7, 2021: @ Juventus

Week 13- November 21, 2021: Milan

Week 14- November 28, 2021: @ Empoli

Week 15- (Midweek) December 1, 2021: Sampdoria

Week 16- December 5, 2021: @ Bologna

Week 17- December 12, 2021: Salerntiana

Week 18- December 18, 2021: Sassuolo

Week 19- (Midweek) December 22, 2021: @ Verona

Week 20- (Midweek) January 6, 2022: Udinese

Week 21- January 9, 2022: @ Torino

Week 22- January 16, 2022: Genoa

Week 23- January 23, 2022: @ Cagliari

Week 24- February 6, 2022: Lazio

Week 25- February 13, 2022: @ Spezia

Week 26- February 20, 2022: Atalanta

Week 27- February 27, 2022: @ Sassuolo

Week 28- March 6, 2022: Verona

Week 29- March 13, 2022: Bologna

Week 30- March 20, 2022: @ Inter Milan

Week 31- March 27, 2022: Empoli

Week 32- April 10, 2022: @ Napoli

Week 33- April 17, 2022: Venezia

Week 34- April 24, 2022: @ Salerntiana

Week 35- May 1, 2022: @ Milan

Week 36- May 8, 2022: Roma

Week 37- May 15, 2022: @ Sampdoria

Week 38- May 22, 2022: Juventus

My initial reactions are this- Vincenzo Italiano is not going to have an easy beginning. Facing four of last year’s top seven in our first seven matchdays is quite the gauntlet. Our opening match against Jose Mourinho’s Roma is the best match that week and should get quite a bit of attention from around the world. Even after the first seven rounds, the Viola’s schedule does not get easier, as they face the remaining three top seven clubs by Week 13, including Juventus and Milan back to back. Weeks 14-20 will be the easiest stretch of the season and hopefully a place to pick up points, but let’s just hope Fiorentina isn’t too beaten down at this point to play to their potential. The second half of the schedule is far more balanced, but the last four matches are rough, as the Viola host Roma and Juventus and travel to the San Siro to play Milan.