Tottenham vs. Fiorentina: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Tottenham Hotspur and Fiorentina meet on Thursday at White Hart Lane in what is one of the more mouthwatering matches of the Europa League round of 32.
The Serie A club topped their group prior to the turn of the year and are currently on a three-game winning streak. With a domestic cup run and a crack at a Champions League place still on the agenda, in addition to their European concerns, Vincenzo Montella's team are in some respects the Italian equivalent of Tottenham.
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The Premier League side have notably improved since the conclusion of their own group campaign. Losses to Crystal Palace and Liverpool have ensured some backward or at least sideward steps in 2015. But victories over Chelsea and Arsenal have shown this is a team capable of matching anyone on their day.
During Wednesday's pre-match press conferences, both Montella and Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino predicted a challenging first leg.
"I admire Montella and the way that they play because it is football that has a little bit of Spanish philosophy," Pochettino said. "For that we expect a very tough game, and for that it is important to get the victory tomorrow."
"We need to play well, stay true to our style, be brave and also be a little bit humble," offered Montella, "and be aware of what might happen if we don't play to our top level."
Date: Thursday, February 19
Time: 8:05 p.m. GMT/3:05 p.m. ET
Venue: White Hart Lane, London
TV Info: BT Sport 2 (U.K. only)/Fox Soccer Plus (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport app and online player (U.K. only)/Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only)
Form Lines
| Tottenham Hotspur | Fiorentina |
| Premier League, February 10: Liverpool (a)—Lost: 3-2 | Serie A, February 14: Sassuolo (a)—Won: 1-3 |
| Premier League, February 7: Arsenal (h)—Won:2-1 | Serie A, February 8: Atalanta (h)—Won: 3-2 |
| Premier League, January 31: West Bromwich Albion (a)—Won: 0-3 | Coppa Italia, February 3: Roma (a)—Won: 0-2 |
| Capital One Cup, January 28: Sheffield United (a)—Drew: 2-2 | Serie A, January 31: Genoa (a)—Draw: 1-1 |
| FA Cup, January 24: Leicester City (h)—Lost: 1-2 | Serie A, January 25: Roma (h)—Draw: 1-1 |
Team News
"Everyone is fit, that is a good thing for us," Pochettino confirmed at his press conference. "It was not too long—the break was only the weekend—but it was good for recovery and energy, and clearing our mind is important before the tough period we have ahead."
Fiorentina's Giuseppe Rossi and Federico Bernardeschi are still injured, as confirmed by UEFA.com.
Predicted Formations
Both Tottenham and Fiorentina have packed schedules in the coming weeks. The English club's has a little extra edge with their fourth game in the next fortnight being their Capital One Cup final date with Chelsea.
Pochettino will hope to have his main men in as good as condition as possible for that match. Winning those preceding the Wembley will be at the forefront of his mind, though, so expect to see the majority of Spurs' main men line up on Thursday in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation.
Otherwise, left-back Ben Davies and central midfielder Benjamin Stambouli could resume the European-night duties they performed for most of the autumn. Out of the side for Spurs' last two games, Federico Fazio is a reasonable bet to be recalled for this one in central defence.
Further forward, Nacer Chadli getting a first start since returning from personal leave might be on the cards. His selection might also see Christian Eriksen moved back inside. Mousa Dembele has performed commendably there of late, but it might be the ideal time to re-examine if the Dane is more effective centrally than coming in off the flank.
Montella made a series of changes between Fiorentina's 3-2 win over Atalanta and Saturday's 3-1 defeat of Sassuolo, tweaking his system accordingly.
Recent recruit Mohamed Salah (more on him later) might be one of those to start the latter who keeps his place. Khouma Babacar scored twice against Sassuolo but may lose his spot to the more experienced Mario Gomez.
Montella has the option of preparing the 3-5-1-1 formation he has generally favoured of late. In which case players such as Borja Valero and Manuel Pasqual would likely return.
Then again, use of a four-man defence might be on the cards if the Italian boss decides a safety-in-numbers approach to deal with the Spurs attack is the way to go.
Tottenham Player to Watch: Harry Kane
Before derby goals against Chelsea and Arsenal, before talk of a call-up to the England senior squad, Kane set out his stall for the season in the Europa League.
His goals against AEL Limassol aided progress to the group stage. He netted a long-range opener in the 1-1 home draw with Besiktas and scored four in two wins against Asteras Tripolis. The first match against the Greeks was notable for a five-minute spell in goal, adding to his burgeoning status as a Spurs cult hero.
The 21-year-old's contributions provided some much-needed cheer in an autumn of discontent for Spurs. Now with Pochettino's team in better shape and Kane going from strength to strength, his team-mate Nacer Chadli is backing him to help see off the Italians.
"Harry is a smart lad," Chadli said in Wednesday's pre-match press conference. "You could see it in the last games, the defence had a lot of focus, but he just waits for his moments—a few seconds—he gets the ball and makes the difference."
Longtime club servant Pasqual confirmed Fiorentina are well-aware of the young Englishman's threat too.
"There's no doubt he is one of Spurs' best players at the moment," said the defender on the eve of Thursday's match. "We know he is a goalscorer so we will be marking him best we can and try to stop him."
The first of four games in a fortnight, Pochettino could choose to rest Kane and hand either Emmanuel Adebayor or Roberto Soldado an opportunity.
You suspect, though, the Argentinian will prefer to field a stronger side on Thursday in the hope they can establish a lead which will require less of an exertion in Florence (three days prior to the Capital One Cup final). The best chance of this coming to fruition is likely to be with the on-fire Kane leading the Spurs front line.
Fiorentina Player to Watch: Mohamed Salah
Salah and Tottenham have crossed paths before. As recently as last month he was a late substitute in the north London club's 5-3 defeat of Chelsea.
More pertinent to Thursday's possible clash might be the two parties' 2013 meetings, back when the Egyptian was one of Basel's star men.
Salah was prominently involved in both legs of a 4-4 Europa League quarter-final aggregate draw which the Swiss outfit eventually won on penalties. He scored in the second game and was a menace throughout.
Confined to the fringes during his year at Chelsea, Salah is again revelling in the more prominent role new club Fiorentina granted him.
The loanee's first appearance, as a substitute against Atalanta, saw the 22-year-old help his team earn a 3-2 win. Rewarded with his full debut away at Sassuolo this past weekend, Salah struck the Tuscan outfit's opener before setting up Khouma Babacar for their second in the 3-1 victory.
"Salah is a very good player," Montella said on Wednesday. "He is used to playing at this level, and although he has only been with us for a short while, he has already shown very quickly he is up to playing very well in Italy and playing well for us."
Montella may opt to start others who have helped Fiorentina to this point in the competition. However, if he does select the seemingly rejuvenated Salah, the ex-Basel man could cause Spurs a number of problems once again.
Key Battle: Who Will Prevail in Midfield?
Between Valero and Matias Fernandez, David Pizarro and Alessandro Diamanti, Montella has midfielders capable of implementing a passing game augmented by timely creative flourishes (aided by wide men Pasqual and Joaquin helping create space for them).
As seen in recent Serie A fixtures like the 1-1 draw with Roma and the 3-2 win over Atalanta, domination of opponents is not always a consistent theme of their play. Their commitment to providing multiple passing options offensively leaves their defence exposed more often than Montella may like.
This is not a team who shies away from regrouping and trying again, though. Valero and Fernandez are reliable support men for the craftier, more skillful types such as Pizarro and Diamanti. Left to their own devices, the latter pair can unlock even the sturdiest of defences.
From an attacking perspective, the seesaw-like balance of Pochettino's main central midfield pair provides a similar function. One goes high to join in with the attacking midfield trio; the other (generally) anchors them below.
Their distinct deeper positioning can be blurred by one or more of the attacking midfielders dropping in to join them. Essentially, however, these two men are the ones primarily responsible for breaking up opposition moves before they reach their defence.
Whoever plays out of Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason, Stambouli and Paulinho, how these two elements fare as to stopping and hurting La Viola's own midfield men will have a big say on the outcome of Thursday's game. Either side's attack taking the initiative is likely to stem from the results of this battle.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Tottenham win: 23-20
Fiorentina win: 13-5
Draw: 5-2
First goalscorer—Kane: 4 Mario Gomez: 5
Press conference quotes obtained firsthand.
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