Serie A sharp shooters face off in Florence

| Fri, 03/16/2007 - 07:34

Serie A's hottest strikers square up on Sunday afternoon when Luca Toni's Fiorentina entertain Francesco Totti's AS Roma and league points will not be the only thing at stake.

Totti has made no secret of the fact that he wants to wrestle the 'Capocannoniere' top-scorer-of-the-season crown off last year's winner Toni.

The AS Roma captain leads the top-scorer standings at the moment with 18 goals, three more than his Azzurri team-mate.

"Yes, at this point I am aiming to win the Capocannoniere title," said the Roma star, who is widely considered Italy's most talented footballer, on Thursday.

"Our defence will give a little extra in order to stop Toni scoring".

Likewise, Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey promised to do his best to repel Totti.

"Not just to do a favour for my friend Toni, of course" he said.

Toni won the 2005-06 'Capocannoniere' crown with 31 goals. That tally made him the first player to cross the 30-goal mark in Serie A for over four decades.

Both sides are in good health.

Roma are second with 57 points. They are too far behind to worry runaway leaders Inter (16 points), but 11 points ahead of third-placed Lazio and relatively sure of direct entry to the group stage of next season's Champions League.

Fiorentina are seventh with 36 points and still in with a chance of climbing up to fourth to take Italy's last Champions League berth.

They would be third if it were not for the 15-point penalty slapped on the club for its role in the Calciopoli referee-rigging scandal.

Frey is predicting an entertaining, open game.

"Both sides play quality soccer, give the public a good time and are effective too, thanks to coaches Cesare Prandelli (Fiorentina) and Luciano Spalletti (Roma). They have the same mentality and are now Italy's best trainers," he said.

"There is every reason Sunday's match should be a great one".

Roma's defence will also have to keep close tabs on Toni's strike partner Adrian Mutu, who is in prolific form too.

The Romanian international is joint fourth in the top-scorer standings with 13 goals, the same number as Inter's on-fire Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Inter are out to maintain their 16-point advantage by beating second-from-bottom Ascoli away from home.

That might not be as easy as it sounds.

Ascoli won 0-1 in Siena last time out and are unbeaten in five games.

Lazio are looking to extend a five-match winning streak on Sunday evening at home to fifth-placed Empoli, one of their rivals for a Champions League slot.

Qualification for Europe's premier competition will also be sixth-placed AC Milan's incentive when they welcome Atalanta to the San Siro Stadium.

Fourth-placed Palermo pay a visit to Sampdoria (8th) in Genoa on Saturday night aiming to end a six-game winless run.

There are five other Serie A games this weekend, all on Sunday afternoon: Cagliari (15th) - Chievo Verona (16th), Catania (11th) - Reggina (18th), Messina (17th) - Torino (13th), Parma (bottom) - Siena (14th) and Udinese (10th) - Livorno (12th).

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