Continuing their latest quest to lift the elusive Conference League trophy, Fiorentina kick off their quarter-final tie with Celje on Thursday evening.
Runners-up for the past two years, the Viola are intent on going one step further this season, but their Slovenian counterparts are also eyeing a semi-final clash with either Real Betis or Jagiellonia.
Match preview
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Twice beaten in the final of a competition that was only inaugurated three seasons ago, Fiorentina have a love-hate affair with the Conference League, so they are hoping for a happier ending next month.
The Tuscan club safely negotiated qualifying and the league phase of this term’s competition before coming through a tough test in the last 16, where Panathinaikos won the first leg 3-2 in Greece and then put up a fight at Stadio Franchi before losing 3-1.
Goals from Albert Gudmundsson, Rolando Mandragora and star man Moise Kean ultimately saw the Viola edge through, as they continued an impressive European record on Italian soil this season.
Fiorentina may have won all four home games since the start of the league phase, but their away record reads just one win from four so far – that reflects a similar picture in Serie A.
Yet, they are still contenders for a top-four finish, having recovered from a dismal run of results that threatened to derail their domestic campaign.
Either side of last month’s international break, Raffaele Palladino‘s men conquered one of their direct rivals: thumping old foes Juventus 3-0 before beating Atalanta BC two weeks later, with Kean scoring the only goal to defeat La Dea.
Last time out, the Italy striker put his team two up after 10 minutes at San Siro, but they eventually succumbed to AC Milan’s latest fightback and had to settle for an entertaining 2-2 draw.
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Celje have also been in good form since reaching the Conference League quarter-finals, most notably progressing to the Slovenian Cup semis by knocking out Maribor, before beating Bravo 2-1 in the PrvaLiga on Sunday.
As a result of Aljosa Matko‘s first-half brace, the Counts claimed maximum points again, leaving them fourth in the standings – albeit some 18 points adrift of top spot.
Set to lose their crown as domestic champions, the Styrian club can now concentrate on breaking new ground in Europe, after coming through one of the best ties of the last 16.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Celje then lost 5-4 to Lugano over the course of 120 minutes in Switzerland, before winning a penalty shootout to set up an historic first meeting with Italian opposition.
To date, Slovenian sides have hosted teams from their neighbouring nation in just seven previous UEFA club matches – winning one and losing five. So, Albert Riera‘s men will attempt to defy such precedent when Fiorentina come to town.
Team News
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Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino has reduced his squad rotation substantially in recent weeks, but with one eye on an important league game against Parma he may make some changes on Thursday.
Nonetheless, Fabiano Parisi is set to continue on the left flank, as Robin Gosens is still sidelined by a knee injury, while David de Gea should beat cup goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano to selection between the posts.
Gosens aside, Andrea Colpani is the Viola’s sole fitness concern, and the ex-Monza forward may even be ready to take a place on the bench.
With four goals in seven Conference League matches so far, Moise Kean will most likely lead the visitors’ attack, while Armandas Kucys has a stellar record of one goal per game in eight European appearances for Celje this season.
There are several candidates to support the Lithuanian striker, but Aljosa Matko bumped his name up the list by finding the net twice last weekend; Logan Delaurier-Chaubet and Tamar Svetlin are his main rivals.
Celje possible starting lineup:
Silva; Nieto, Vuklisevic, Nemanic, Karnicnik; Zabukovnik, Kvesic; Delaurier-Chaubet, Seslar, Svetlin; Kucys
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Comuzzo, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Ndour, Adli, Mandragora, Parisi; Gudmundsson, Kean
We say: Celje 1-2 Fiorentina
Fiorentina have rediscovered their form, after suffering a dramatic slump from February into March, so they should be ready to take a first-leg lead in Slovenia.
As Celje lost half their league-phase games and only sneaked through via the playoffs – conceding plenty of goals along the way – they will lose again, leaving them with a mountain to climb when they visit Florence for next week’s second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
