Fiorentina host Carpi in round of 16 Coppa Italia action on Wednesday afternoon.
La Viola come into the match on the heels of a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus in Turin. Josip Illicic opened the scoring for the Tuscans early on by converting a penalty. The Bianconeri would rattle off three straight goals from former Fiorentina man Juan Cuadrado, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala.
Viola coach Paulo Sousa will be eager for his side to put the defeat behind them and focus on advancing the domestic tournament.
Carpi will need to shrug off their shellacking 3-0 defeat at the hands of an overachieving Empoli side this past weekend. The Biancorossi will need to tighten up their back line if they expect to advance. Currently they are tied for a league high in goals conceded with Frosinone on 30.
The two have already met in Serie A where Khouma Babacar scored to give the Viola a 1-0 away win they had to work for.
Croatian center-back Igor Bubnjic is unavailable for Biancorossi coach Fabrizio Castori as he is recovering from a ligament tear in his knee and will not be able to return to action until March. Also missing the match with knee trouble is midfielder Matteo Fedele.
As for Sousa’s side, he will have to make due without Borussia Dortmund loanee Jakub Blaszczykowski who is unavailable due to an unknown injury.
Form Guide: Fiorentina (W-D-D-W-L) Carpi (L-L-W-D-L)
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Roncaglia, Rodriguez, Astori; Bernardeschi, Badelj, Vecino, Alonso; Borja Valero, Ilicic; Kalinic.
Carpi: Belec; Zaccardo, Romagnoli, Gagliolo, Letizia; Pasciuti, Cofie, Lollo, Martinho; Lasagna, Borriello.
