Tottenham v Fiorentina Prediction and Preview – 25/02/16
Europa League preview – Tottenham v Fiorentina prediction.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has a number of injury concerns ahead of the Europa League clash against Fiorentina. Harry Kane broke his nose playing against Crystal Palace on Sunday but is prepared to wear a mask if called upon for Thursday’s second leg. Moussa Dembele was brought off at the weekend suffering from a groin strain and could be rested. Thomas Carroll faces a race against time after injuring his Achilles in the first leg and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be assessed after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. Clinton N’Jie and Jan Vertonghen are both sidelined.
Tino Costa and Yohan Benalouane are out of the Fiorentina squad for the trip to London. Costa played in central midfield in the first leg and could be replaced by Matias Vecino while Benalouane has a back problem and is yet to figure since signing on loan from Leicester in the summer. Nikola Kalinic will be pushing for a start ahead of Mauro Zarate after scoring the winner in a five-goal thriller against Atalanta on Sunday.
Possible Line-ups
Tottenham 4-2-3-1 formation: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Mason, Dier; Heung-Min, Eriksen, Alli; Chadli
Fiorentina 4-4-1-1 formation: Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori, Alonso; Blaszczykowski, Vecino, Valero, Bernardeschi; Ilicic; Zarate
Statistics
- Tottenham have won 7 drawn 1 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Fiorentina have won 5 drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Tottenham have scored an average of 2 goals and conceded an average of 0.7 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Fiorentina have scored an average of 1.5 goals and conceded an average of 1.2 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Tottenham’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Fiorentina’s previous 10 matches
Prediction
Tottenham will feel they have the advantage after finishing level and with the benefit of an away goal from the first leg in Fiorentina. They have not kept a clean sheet at home in three attempts in the Europa League this season however they did emerge victorious on each occasion against Qarabag (3-1), Anderlecht (2-1) and Monaco (4-1). The 1-1 draw in Italy ended a run of seven consecutive victories for Tottenham who followed up with an uncharacteristic performance when knocked out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane at the weekend.
Fiorentina eliminated Tottenham from last season’s competition when they won 2-0 in the second leg after securing a 1-1 draw in London. The situation is reversed but the Serie A side went unbeaten in three away games in this season’s competition having won at Belenenses (4-0) and Lech Poznan (2-0) before playing a draw (2-2) in Basel. The 3-2 victory at Atalanta on Sunday was only Fiorentina’s second away win since early November.
Fiorentina had the best of few chances in the first leg but have an uphill task to overcome Tottenham on their home patch.
Tips
Tottenham to win at 5/6 with William Hill
Over 2.5 goals at Evens with 888sport
Tottenham to win 2-1 at 8/1 with BetVictor
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