Two-time Conference League runners-up Fiorentina welcome Celje to Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday, looking to defeat the Slovenian team in the quarter-final second leg.
Raffaele Palladino's squad may have emerged victorious in the first leg, but David de Gea was forced into several crucial saves, and the underdogs aim to take positives from that loss on home soil to shock their Italian hosts.
Match preview
Although Fiorentina claimed a first-leg victory at Celje last week, the Viola had to fight hard against the Slovenian champions to secure a 2-1 win against Albert Riera's side.
While goals from Luca Ranieri and Rolando Mandragora seemed to set the Serie A team on a path to an easy victory, Logan Delaurier-Chaubet reduced the deficit for Rumeno-modri, whose attempts to level the score were thwarted by De Gea to maintain Fiorentina's slender advantage.
Despite holding the upper hand and being favourites to reach a third consecutive Conference League semi-final, the Slovenian team took advantage of the Violets' high defensive line in last week's match and have vowed to do the same on Thursday.
Nevertheless, the home crowd will point to an unblemished home record since the league phase began, defeating The New Saints (2-0), Pafos (3-2), LASK (7-0) and Panathinaikos (3-1).
With Fiorentina averaging 3.8 goals per game leading into this week's encounter, the hosts, who have scored three or more in three of four games in the tournament proper, feel confident about avoiding a surprising exit to the newcomers.
Despite their lack of experience at this level, Riera spoke confidently before their rematch with Fiorentina, expressing his frustration after a tightly contested first leg went against them.
Keen to play fearlessly in Florence, the defending Slovenian champions, competing in the tournament proper in Europe for the first time, aim to stun their favoured hosts and advance to a maiden semi-final on their inaugural appearance.
The home defeat to Fiorentina ended the Counts' four-match winning streak across all competitions, and Celje returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Mura on Sunday, though that comeback required two goals in the final 20 minutes to overturn an early deficit.
Riera's team seeks to carry the domestic momentum from those late moments into Thursday's decisive clash against the Viola, although Grofie's broader away record in Europe could undermine that ambition.
They have won just four of five matches on their travels in the Conference League, but that 2-0 triumph in the last 16 against PAOK was an anomaly, demonstrated by defeats to Vitoria Guimaraes (3-1), Real Betis (2-1), Pafos (2-0) and Lugano (5-4), the last of which ended in a penalty shootout.
Overcoming the consecutive runners-up will require a nearly flawless performance at both ends to challenge Palladino's men, yet the tendency to concede goals — 2.4 goals conceded per game — could limit those slim prospects.
Team News
Palladino must do without the suspended Nicolo Zaniolo, Dodo and Matias Moreno, while Edoardo Bove (heart problems), Andrea Colpani (foot) and Robin Gosens (knee) are likely to miss out for Fiorentina.
Leading the scoring charts for the Viola in Europe is Mandragora, who could add to his four goals on the continent against Celje.
With Zaniolo suspended, either Albert Gudmundsson or leading scorer in all competitions, Moise Kean, could start up front alongside Lucas Beltran.
Celje are expected to be without Nejc Ajhmajer and Armandas Kucys, both suffering from knee injuries.
Without Kucys's six goals, the Slovenian outfit will face their challenge in Florence missing their top scorer in Europe, meaning Tamar Svetlin (four goals) and Juanjo Nieto (three) must rise to the occasion for the visiting club.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Pongracic, Comuzzo, Ranieri; Folorunsho, Mandragora, Cataldi, Adli, Parisi; Beltran, Kean
Celje possible starting lineup:
Silva; Nieto, Vuklisevic, Nemanic; Matko, Zabukovnik, Svetlin, Karnicnik; Delaurier-Chaubet, Kvesic; Seslar
We say: Fiorentina 2-0 Celje (Fiorentina win 4-1 on aggregate)
Despite firing blanks against Parma in Serie A on Sunday, it is difficult to predict anything other than a straightforward victory for Fiorentina when they face the Slovenian side.
Celje's disappointing away results in Europe and the home team's high-scoring nature in Florence should determine the match and tie in favour of Palladino's men.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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