Fiorentina v Roma: Three opposition players to watch

Roma travel to Tuscany to face an unpredictable Fiorentina side on Sunday evening.

The Giallorossi will be feeding off Totti's sensational comeback last weekend, as the group looks to build upon that success and get off to a good start in the domestic campaign.

But playing at the Stadio Artemio Franchi never comes easy for the visitor, with the Viola always a strong, dangerous side. Here we look at three of their key threats…

Josip Ilicic

After making the jump from Palermo, the attacking midfielder has been one of the highlights of the Viola attack. Coming off his most successful season with 15 goals and five assists, he will be full of confidence, and looking to continue in that rich vein of form. Having already created two assists this term, Ilicic is averaging almost three shots per game and proving himself a dynamic threat.

While he carries a powerful, direct style of attack in his dribbling and shooting, the Slovenian's creativity cannot be overlooked - an atypical attribute for a player as tall as he is.

Borja Valero

The creative outlet in midfield for the Viola, many consider the 31-year-old Spaniard to be the most important player in the squad. His pass completion rate of 93% is among the league's best for midfielders, as he conducts much of his side’s attacking play.

His four goals and six assists helped lead the Viola to the Europa League last year, though he has had a slower start thus far. For an experienced player like Borja, it is surely just a lull, and a big match against early in the season could be just the motivation needed to get back to his best.

Tough to dispossess and able of seeing moves a few steps ahead, Roma will have to beat Borja from a tactical standpoint, denying him time and service in order to disrupt his midfield influence.

Milan Badelj

While Borja is the attacking pivot of Paulo Sousa's squad, Badelj plays the reference point behind him. The Croatian is coming off a strong performance in the European Championship, where he helped his team to the Round of 16 - where they lost, agonisingly, to eventual champions Portugal.

Badelj is a rugged opponent - aggressive in the tackle and focused to make the interception. In the midweek Europa League match against PAOK Thessaloniki he was the top player on the pitch, accumulating four shots, six tackles, and two completed dribbles.

Spalletti will head into this match acknowledging that to cut off Badelj will be to disrupt Fiorentina's initiation of attack.