Fiorentina vs Genoa preview - Richards awaits Fiorentina debut

Posted Saturday, September 13, 2014 by PA

Fiorentina fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see summer signing Micah Richards in action.

The England defender is unlikely to feature in Sunday's home game against Genoa.

"I've played very little in recent weeks and I've only had a few training sessions with the group," Richards said. "I still need a bit of time in order to be in top condition."

Richards joined the Florence outfit on a season-long loan from all-time club Manchester City and the 26-year-old is keen to make an impact in Serie A.

"I needed a new challenge after 12 years at City," he said. "I have joined an ambitious club and I want to give my contribution.

"Our aim is to finish in the Champions League qualifying positions."

Fiorentina, coached by Vincenzo Montella, will have to show a drastic improvement with respect to their 2-0 defeat at Roma in their league opener if they are to improve on last year's fourth-place finish.

Fiorentina head into the encounter at the Artemio Franchi stadium knowing they will be without Giuseppe Rossi until next year.

The Italy international, who was the Viola's top scorer last season, underwent right knee surgery last week and will be sidelined for at least four months.

Without Rossi, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado will partner Mario Gomez in the Viola's attack.

Rivals Genoa also go in search of their first win of the campaign this weekend after a last-gasp goal from Jonathan De Guzman denied the Grifoni a point in their 2-1 loss to Napoli in their league opener.

"It's not easy to lose in the last seconds of the game especially after my team handed a strong performance against Napoli," Genoa coach Giampiero Gasperini said. "But we need to forget about it and focus on our next game.

"We are on the right path and this is the most important thing."

Former Fiorentina striker Alessandro Matri will lead Genoa's attack on Sunday.

Matri spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina before joining Genoa this summer on a year-long loan from AC Milan.