Team News and Expected Line-up against Fiorentina

Spurs return to their European calendar this week with a Thursday night kickoff against Italian outfit ACF Fiorentina at White Hart Lane. While many do not like the timing of these matches, but you play the games that are on your schedule and Spurs have a deep enough squad that these European fixtures shouldn’t be a big stumbling block in their pursuit of domestic prominence, and more importantly, silverware.

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While we all know what Tottenham has done lately, how have the visitors from Florence fared? Fiorentina are unbeaten in Serie A since January 11 and it has seen them rise to fourth and within four points of the final Italian Champions League spot. However, they have mostly been feasting on lesser teams in the league. Their most significant results in league play are draws with Juventus, AS Roma, and AC Milan; their biggest wins are against Inter Milan (3-0) and Cagliari (4-0)

They’ve also reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia by beating AS Roma in the quarterfinals. They have a tough task ahead in that competition as they must beat Juventus in order to reach the final.

How They Got Here

Fiorentina won Group K by outlasting Guingamp, PAOK Salonika, and Dinamo Minsk. Those opponents are not exactly Barcelona, Bayern, and Real Madrid in stature or talent, but Fiorentina scored 11 and only let in four goals in six matches and finished with clean sheet victories in their first three matches.

Key Players

Spurs won’t have to worry about Juan Cuadrado in this one since he has been shipped off to Chelsea, but Fiorentina didn’t rise to fourth in Serie A without some talent.

The most notable player is probably Mario Gomez. The German international and former Bayern Munich man is still very capable at the age of 30. He scored a brace in the Florentine’s semifinal win in the Coppa Italia over Roma.

Khouma Babacar and Gonzalo Rodriguez lead the team in goals in the Serie A campaign, with the Senegalese scoring five in just 15 games, while the Argentine has bagged four in 19 appearances.

They Said it

Mauricio Pochettino on his fondness of Italy's Serie A: "It's going to be a fascinating tie. I've got a lot of respect for Italian football. There are always highs and lows, but even in one of its worst moments, Serie A still has great value."

The manager on Fiorentina's style of play: "I like the way Fiorentina play. His (Vincenzo Montella's) style of play is very Spanish. They are a side you could enroll in the Primera Division and nobody would realize they are Italian."

Spurs midfielder Benjamin Stambouli on winning the Europa League: “Can we win two cups? Why not? We have to believe,” said Stambouli. “We have to be very strong and believe in our chances. If we could win a cup, it would be something amazing.

Stambouli on choosing Spurs over Fiorentina this past summer: “Tottenham are a great club in the world now. In some ways, Fiorentina still are but, in terms of prestige, I don’t think they’re at the level of Tottenham. Let me make it clear that I’m not talking about the ability of the two teams on the pitch. We will see if we can beat them in this tie. As I had the possibility to go to Fiorentina, perhaps it’s destiny that we’re playing them now.When a club like Tottenham come to you, you can’t refuse. I could adapt easily because there were a lot of French players here, so I knew it would make things easier.”

Christian Eriksen on Fiorentina: “It’s a great tie, a really tough game. Fiorentina are doing well in Italy and they are a strong team. It’s always exciting in the knockout stage and it’s win or lose now – nothing in between. Everyone wants to go through and hopefully we’ll achieve that.”

Team News

Mauricio Pochettino has a full squad to choose from as Spurs have not been bitten by the injury bug of late. While the full player list is available, look for the manager to make significant changes to the team that lost 2-3 at Anfield last week. There are some big games on the horizon and the manager will want to keep the players as fresh as possible.

Expected Line-up

Lloris, Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Stambouli, Paulinho, Eriksen, Lamela; Chadli, Kane.

 

Thats a better line-up dnoll5 ! Lol. Hopefully Kane will start, not sure about Paulinho, maybe Dembele for the 2nd half ! Looks strong enough to win and Poch will know the benefit of picking certain players to face their Italian counterparts. We need a good win. Coys.

 

steve- I knew I'd win back a few people with this lineup! And it wouldn't surprise me if Poch goes with Dembele (he's been great recently) or even Capoue (who has been out of favor for some reason that I don't understand) rather than Paulinho.

 

Not paulinho! Does anyone know where to watch the game?

 

How to Watch
Match Date: Thursday, February 19
Time: 8:05 p.m. GMT (3:05 p.m. ET)
Location: White Hart Lane, London, England

TV/Streaming: For American viewers, the match will be televised on Fox Soccer Plus and streamed on Fox Soccer 2GO. Fans in the UK can find it on BT Sport 2. If you're tuning in from the Great White North (that's Canada, not Finland), it's on Sportsnet 1. Aussies Aussies Aussies can watch on beIN SPORTS CONNECT Australia. Others can find their local channels here.

 

Cheers dude