Tottenham Hotspur‘s Europa League campaign resumes on Thursday when they travel to face Fiorentina in the first leg of their round-of-32 tie. 

La Viola are opposition that Spurs know well, having been knocked out by them at the same stage in last year’s tournament. Fiorentina progressed to the semi-final but were thrashed 5-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Sevilla. 

This tie may prove a frustrating distraction for both teams as they are enjoying promising domestic campaigns. Fiorentina hold Serie A’s final Champions League place, while Tottenham are second in the Premier League. 

Vincenzo Montella, the architect of Spurs’ defeat last season, has moved on and Paulo Sousa has taken the reins. The Portuguese has a mixed reputation in England after some less-than-fruitful managerial spells, but he has his team performing at a solid level and Mauricio Pochettino must be wary. 

Form Lines 

Fiorentina

Fiorentina 2-1 Inter Milan

Bologna 1-1 Fiorentina

Fiorentina 2-1 Carpi

Genoa 0-0 Fiorentina

Fiorentina 2-0 Torino

Tottenham 

Manchester City 1-2 Spurs

Spurs 1-0 Watford

Norwich City 0-3 Spurs

Colchester United 1-4 Spurs

Crystal Palace 1-3 Spurs

Team News 

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been ruled out with a shoulder injury and joins Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie on the sidelines, according to the club’s official website. 

In more positive news, youngsters Josh Onomah and Cameron Carter-Vickers (both 18) are with the squad. 

Sousa is yet to confirm any changes to his lineup but hinted at some rotation, saying “it’s possible, also for strategic reasons since this is a two-legged tie.”

Predicted Formations 

Fiorentina have switched between a back three and back four across this season but went with a 4-3-2-1 in their latest fixture, the 2-1 victory over Inter Milan. 

Fiorentina 

Goalkeeper: Tatarusanu

Defence: Alonso, Astori, Tomovic, Roncaglia

Midfield: Tello, Valero, Vecino, Badelj, Blaszczykowski

Attack: Kalinic

Spurs

Goalkeeper: Vorm

Defence: Trippier, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Davies

Midfield: Lamela, Bentaleb, Carroll, Onomah, Chadli

Attack: Kane

Player to Watch 

Every positive Fiorentina move flows through Borja Valero. The midfielder is the creative heart of Sousa’s team, and he will make the difference against Tottenham. 

Sousa protects Valero with physical midfielders on either side and gives the Spaniard the freedom to drift around and cause chaos. 

He has six assists and 53 chances created in the season so far, per Squawka.com. If Spurs can stop Valero, they are well on their way to victory. 

The star of Tottenham’s Europa League campaign so far has been Erik Lamela. The Argentinian scored five goals in the group stages and seems to thrive in lower-paced European football. 

Many of his best performances and greatest individual moments have come in this tournament. 

Having been omitted from the starting lineup against Manchester City on Sunday, it seems a certainty that Lamela will start in Florence. He more than earned a recall with his match-winning appearance from the substitutes’ bench at the Etihad Stadium. 

Key Battle 

Tottenham have the fourth-highest rate of possession in the Premier League this season, according to WhoScored.com. They held 54 percent of the ball in their away win over Manchester City. 

No team in Serie A controls the ball like Fiorentina. They hold 59.8 percent on average. 

Both Pochettino and Sousa have been willing to tweak their approach this season but controlling the game by controlling the ball is a strategy that both seek to exploit. 

The key battle in this match will be who is capable of winning the midfield battle and dominate possession. 

If Spurs opt to rest their key midfielders—Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele—in the first leg, they will likely have trouble retaining their usual high rate of ball control. 

Per Mark Bryans of the Press Association (via the Daily Mail), Sousa revealed his intent to dominate the ball, saying, “…with our style we can have more possession.”

Whichever team wins this battle will force their opponent into an unfamiliar situation and take a huge advantage. 

 

Live Stream, TV Info

UK: 6 p.m. GMT, BT Sport Europe

USA: 1 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Plus 

 

Odds

Strikers Nikola Kalinic and Harry Kane are both short-priced at 5/1 to open the scoring in this fixture, but neither is guaranteed to start and so offer little real value. 

With both sides battling for possession in midfield, this match is likely to start slowly. With that in mind, backing a draw at half-time and a Tottenham win at full-time is available at 6/1. That’s a great value bet in a match that Spurs should be good enough to win.

 

Odds courtesy of Oddschecker.

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