Fiorentina v Guingamp: Viola look for first win of the season

Date: 18th September 2014 at 8:01am
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Fiorentina host French outfit Guingamp on Thursday night at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the opening game of the Europa League group stage.

The two teams have never met in European competition before but they both have played against teams from the opposition’s country.

Fiorentina’s most recent fixture against a French club was against Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League group stage in 2009 in which they won 1-0 at home and lost 1-0 away.

As for Guingamp, they have only met an Italian team once in European competition. This was in the UEFA Cup in 1996, when they faced Inter and lost 4-1 on aggregate after losing 3-0 at home and earning a respectable 1-1 draw at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

The Viola have won only two of their last six games against French opposition, racking up two draws and two defeats whilst Guingamp have never won a Europa League or UEFA Cup game.

The Tuscan outfit are without a win so far this season after playing two Serie A games, accumulating one defeat and one stalemate.

They qualified automatically for the Europa League last season so have therefore only played the two Serie A games which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Roma and a 0-0 draw with Genoa.

Guingamp have had a bit of a mixed start in Ligue 1 so far winning two and losing three. The most recent of victories was an impressive 2-1 win over Bordeaux on Sunday, to take them off the top of the table by inflicting on them their first defeat of the season.

The home side will obviously be without Giuseppe Rossi tonight after he suffered a long-term knee injury the other week whilst also new signing Marko Marin is a doubt for the fixture.

Guingamp will be without Lars Jacobsen, Julien Cardy and Younousse Sankhare who are all thought to be carrying an injury.

Expected Starting XIs

Fiorentina – Neto; Alonso, Savic, Rodriguez, Tomovic; Valero, Pizarro, Aquilani; Babacar, Gomez, Cuadrado

Guingamp – Samassa; Leveque, Sorbon, Kerbrat, Baca; Diallo, Mathis; Pied, Marveaux, Beauvue; Mandanne

 

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