Fiorentina return to action after the Christmas break with a trip to the Stadio Dall’Ara to take on Bologna on Monday – and we’ve curated this list of five key things you need to know about the match to make the countdown to kick-off move that little bit quicker.

2)    Bologna v Fiorentina is also known as the “Derby of the Apennines”, in reference to the geographical positioning of the two cities. There’s less than 100km between Bologna and Florence, with the two cities located on opposite slopes of the northern Apennines. The first ever Derby of the Apennines was the 3-2 win for Bologna in the Divisione Nazionale on 25 November 1928, while the first Serie A derby at Bologna saw the hosts run out 2-1 winners on 28 February 1932 (Pedro Petrone scored for Fiorentina, Carlo Reguzzoni and Angelo Schiavio for Bologna). Petrone and Schiavio both finished that season on 25 league goals, meaning they shared the top-scorer gong.

3)    One coach that will undoubtedly live on in the history of both Bologna and Fiorentina is Fulvio Bernardini. Though born in Rome and developed as a player in the Lazio youth academy, Bernardini led both Fiorentina to their maiden Scudetto triumph in 1956 and Bologna to their seventh – and most recent – title in the 1963/64 season. That title was the last to be decided via a play-off, with Bologna getting the better of Inter with a 2-0 win.

4)    The Week 18 clash between Bologna and Fiorentina will be played on Epiphany, something that has only happened once before. Nine years ago, on 6 January 2011, Bologna and Fiorentina played out a 1-1 draw, again in Week 18 of Serie A. Marco Di Vaio – who is now in charge of scouting for the Rossoblu – opened the scoring on four minutes, before Mario Santana levelled things up in the 67th minute. Other memorable Bologna v Fiorentina encounters include that of 27 November 1977, when a bottom-placed Viola side won at Bologna thanks to a late goal from Andrea Orlandini. On 13 December 1981, meanwhile, Eraldo Pecci and Luciano Miani secured a 2-0 win at Bologna that sent Fiorentina top of the table on 15 points for the first time that season (albeit level with Inter and Juventus). The game will also be remembered for the death of the well-known commentator and interviewer Piero Pasini, who passed away while broadcasting at the match.

5)    The most recent Bologna v Fiorentina fixture, on 25 November 2018, ended in an uneventful 0-0 draw. The Viola’s last win at Bologna, meanwhile, came in the 2017/18 season and saw two highly unusual goals. First up, on 41 minutes, Jordan Veretout’s corner came back off the far post, hitting Antonio Mirante on the back and ending up in the back of the net (it went down as an own goal). And just three minutes later, Erik Pulgar – then a Bologna man – beat Marco Sportiello direct from a corner of his own. Federico Chiesa then bagged then winner on 71 minutes.