Fiorentina vs Celje

Fiorentina, twice runners-up in the Conference League, host Celje at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday for the quarter-final second leg, aiming to secure a win against the Slovenian side. Despite a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the first leg, where David de Gea made critical saves, Celje remains determined to capitalize on their performance and challenge the Italian team.

Fiorentina’s goals from Luca Ranieri and Rolando Mandragora in Slovenia were countered by Logan Delaurier-Chaubet’s strike for Celje, who pushed for an equalizer but were denied by De Gea. The Viola, favored to reach their third straight Conference League semi-final, face a Celje side eager to exploit their high defensive line again.

Fiorentina boast an unbeaten home record in the league phase, with wins over The New Saints (2-0), Pafos (3-2), LASK (7-0), and Panathinaikos (3-1). Averaging 3.8 goals per game, the hosts are confident in their attacking prowess to avoid an upset.

Celje, under Albert Riera, approach the match with boldness despite their lack of European experience. After a frustrating first-leg loss, the Slovenian champions, in their debut European tournament, aim to shock Fiorentina and reach their first semi-final. Their recent 2-1 comeback win against Mura, after ending a four-match winning streak with the Fiorentina defeat, fuels their determination to compete fearlessly in Florence.

Grofie's overall away record in Europe may jeopardize Riera's team's goal of carrying the domestic energy from those closing seconds into Thursday's pivotal matchup against the Viola.

They have only won four of their five Conference League away games, but their 2-0 victory against PAOK in the round of 16 was an exception. They have also lost to Vitoria Guimaraes (3-1), Real Betis (2-1), Pafos (2-0), and Lugano (5-4), the latter of which was decided by a penalty shootout.

It will take a practically faultless performance on both ends to overcome the previous runners-up, but Palladino's team's propensity to let up goals — 2.4 goals per game — may restrict those small chances.

Mandragora is at the top of the Viola's European scoring statistics and might score four more goals versus Celje.

With Zaniolo out, Lucas Beltran and either Albert Gudmundsson or Moise Kean, the top scorer across all competitions, might start up front.

Nejc Ajhmajer and Armandas Kucys are both anticipated to miss time for Celje due to knee problems.

The Slovenian team will struggle in Florence without their best scorer in Europe thanks to Kucys's six goals, thus Tamar Svetlin (four goals) and Juanjo Nieto (three goals) will need to step up for the visiting team.