Fiorentin vs Palermo preview - Iachini wants more improvement

Palermo are in fine fettle going into Sunday's home game at Fiorentina - but coach Giuseppe Iachini has warned them the hard work is only just beginning.

The Sicilian outfit got off to a great start to 2015 by beating Cagliari 5-0 on Tuesday.

The outcome in Sicily extended Palermo's unbeaten run to nine games and moved Iachini's side to eighth in the standings - 13 points clear of the drop zone.

"It wasn't easy to start the year as focused as we did so I congratulate my players for their performance against Cagliari," Iachini told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We have to continue to work with the same mentality.

"We are in a good position in the standings but the season is long.

"My players must remain humble and continue to improve.

"We haven't achieved anything yet and there are many battles left to play."

One player that has stood out for Palermo this season is Paulo Dybala.

The Argentinian forward is the team's leading scorer with nine goals so far while he has also set up six others.

"We are happy to have started the year well," Dybala said. "But we now face two very difficult games at Fiorentina and against Roma and we want to continue to do well."

Palermo's last defeat was a 2-0 reverse at Juventus on October 26.

Rivals Fiorentina head into their home encounter at the Artemio Franchi stadium not at full strength.

Montenegrin defender Stefan Savic was given a four-match ban by the Italian Football League for elbowing Italian striker Antonio Cassano during his team's 1-0 defeat at Parma on Tuesday.

Argentinian defender Gonzalo Rodriguez is also unavailable through suspension.

Fiorentina, coached by Vincenzo Montella, have won just one of their last four league games, and their latest setback saw the Viola drop to ninth position, one place and one point adrift of Sunday's rivals.