Tottenham travel to Florence to take on Fiorentina in their Europa League knockout match on Thursday night, before facing each other in North London to decide who progresses to the last 16.
Tottenham
Tottenham’s victory over Manchester City on Sunday firmly established themselves as title contenders, however the focus on Thursday will be on performing well in Europe. Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino last season reached the last 32 stage, before being knocked out by Thursday’s opponents Fiorentina, with Pochettino hoping his side will go a step further than last season.
With Spurs still competing in three competitions, Pochettino is expected to make changes to his starting XI, with both full backs expected to be rotated which would see Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies come in, whilst Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela are also vying for a spot in the starting XI. Michel Vorm is also set to replace Hugo Lloris in goal, after the Frenchman picked up a shoulder injury ruling him out of the game in Florence, as well as the FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Fiorentina
Fiorentina are currently enjoying a fantastic season under the guidance of Paulo Sousa, as they sit third in Serie A following Sunday’s 2-1 win over Inter Milan. Two key players in Fiorentina’s attempt to finish in the Champions League places are , Nikola Kalinic and Josip Illic who have both scored 10 league goals each, as they attempt to improve on three consecutive fourth place finishes. Last season, Fiorentina reached the semi-final stage of the Europa League before being knocked out by eventuall winners Sevilla.
Prediction
2-1 to Tottenham, with Kane and Alli scoring the goals for Spurs.
