Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has acknowledged that Fiorentina’s attacking prowess in the Conference League quarter-final has proven to be more pronounced than the English side initially anticipated. Speaking ahead of the match, Glasner stated, “We know how they’re going to play and what we want to do.”
The second leg is scheduled to kick off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 20:00 UK time (21:00 CEST).
Crystal Palace are making just one alteration to their lineup from the previous encounter in London, a change necessitated by an injury to Evann Guessand. “We rotated against Newcastle, so the three players in the front and two midfielders should be fresh. In defence they are doing so well, so it’s all good,” Glasner commented to TNT Sports.
Glasner Observes Fiorentina’s Tactical Adjustments
Fiorentina face a significant challenge in overturning the 3-0 deficit from the first leg at Selhurst Park. Their task is further complicated by the absence of the suspended Dodo, as well as injured players Moise Kean, Marco Brescianini, Fabiano Parisi, Tariq Lamptey, and Niccolò Fortini.
With little to lose, Fiorentina’s coach Paolo Vanoli has opted for a highly offensive 4-2-3-1 formation. This setup features two creative midfielders supporting a front line that includes Jack Harrison, Albert Gudmundsson, Manor Solomon, and Roberto Piccoli.
“Maybe it’s a bit more attacking than we expected,” Glasner admitted. “Solomon is more of a winger than Gudmundsson when he played in that position; he’s more of a Number 10, where we expect him today. Comuzzo, of course, is a centre-back and not as attacking as Dodo. I think in April, you can’t change the way you are playing, so you have to rely on the things you are doing well. We know pretty well how they are going to play, and we know what we want to do against them.”
Playing at home and needing to score at least three goals to have a chance, Fiorentina are expected to start aggressively. “We expect them to be more aggressive than at Selhurst Park, going man for man, making a lot of pressure,” Glasner observed. “You always try to find the pockets, with flick-ons, one touches, the inverted wingers try to cut in and then deliver the cross, with three players in the box. That is how they are playing. Similarly, we want to move it to the side quickly and find space, then we will create opportunities. When you play two legs, this is the situation, but we trust ourselves and the way we are playing. We saw yesterday in the Champions League, at this stage of the competition they are always tight games, and that is what we expect here as well.”