Fiorentina have secured a good 1-0 victory in the first leg, but now they have to defend it as Borussia Monchengladbach come to visit at Artemio Franchi Stadium on Thursday. Fiorentina don't have a very good track record against German opponents in European competitions, last time they got defeated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2010 and won just three matches out of eleven overall. Monchengladbach have avoided defeat in two matches against Juventus in the Champions League group stage in 2015.
Fiorentina have won just two of their last five Serie A matches, so the 1-0 first-leg victory at Borussia Monchengladbach was a welcome breath of fresh air and optimism into their camp. However, last weekend they lost 2-1 at AC Milan and dropped to eighth place in the table as a result. That defeat seriously damaged their hopes of qualifying for European football and since they are also out of the Italian Cup, the Europa League might be their only chance of playing in a continental competition next season.
Borussia Monchengladbach are in a similar situation in the Bundesliga, they did win three of their last five league matches but last week's 2-1 home defeat against RB Leipzig left them in 11th place, which is closer to the relegation zone than to European qualification spots. They should gain confidence from the fact that they have won their last three away matches in all competitions, another victory could at least earn them extra time and possibly penalties. Ibrahima Traore, Marvin Schulz and Mamadou Doucoure are injured and will miss out.
Probable line-ups:
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu - Sanchez, Rodriguez, Astori - Chiesa, Badelj, Vecino, Olivera - Bernardeschi, Valero - Babacar
Monchengladbach: Sommer - Jantschke, Christensen, Vestergaard, Wendt - Hermann, Kramer, Dahoud, Johnson - T. Hazard, Stindl
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Fiorentina win - 2.45
Draw - 3.40
Monchengladbach win - 3.10
Your feedback
Please enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
Comments (1)
sharpe
03/01/17, 12:03:10 AM
What an incredible game and result that was, after 1-0 lead from the first game and 2-0 lead in that one probably nobody in Florence even doubt there's any way back...
What an incredible game and result that was, after 1-0 lead from the first game and 2-0 lead in that one probably nobody in Florence even doubt there's any way back for the Germans. But what Borussia have done is just amazing, four consecutive goals and couple of them a beauties too, so the visitors did the unthinkable and going trough the next phase.
Show more
