Fiorentina will host Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday night in the Round of 32 of the Europa League.
Both teams go into this clash on the back of wins in their domestic leagues. Fiorentina defeated Inter 2-1 at home on Sunday night and are now third in Serie A with 49 points from 25 matches.
Spurs won 2-1 away to Manchester City and they are now joint-second in the Premier League table, above rivals Arsenal with 51 points after 26 games.
This European fixture is a repeat of last season’s knockout encounter in which the Gigliati were victorious over two legs. After a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane in the first leg, the Viola won 2-0 at home and triumphed 3-1 on aggregate.
Paulo Sousa’s team qualified for the Round of 32 after finishing second in Group I with 10 points, three points behind his former side Basel and five points ahead of Lech Poznan and Belenenses. A 1-0 win at home to Belenenses on the final matchday sealed Fiorentina’s passage to the knock-out stage.
Mauricio Pochettino’s squad finished on top of Group J with 13 points, three points ahead of Belgian giants Anderlecht. They sealed their place in the knockout stages with a 4-1 win against Monaco on Matchday 6.
Fiorentina lost two out of their three home fixtures in the Group Stage. The last time Spurs won against Italian opposition was in the 2012-13 Europa League, when they defeated Inter 3-0 in north London. They lost the second leg 4-1 but went through to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Milan Badelj will miss the first leg for Fiorentina with a hamstring injury. Spurs will be missing Jan Vertonghen with a knee injury and Ryan Mason with an ankle injury. Captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is also out after taking a knock late on at the Etihad Stadium.
European Form Guide: Fiorentina (W-L-W-D-W) Tottenham Hotspur (D-L-W-W-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Fiorentina: Sepe: Tomovic, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Astori, Pasqual; Vecino, Borja Valero; Bernardeschi, Ilicic, Tello; Babacar
Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Dier, Carroll, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela; Son Heung-Min
