Fiorentina vs Sivasspor

Stadio Artemio Franchi plays host to Fiorentina’s Europa Conference League round-of-16 first-leg tie against Turkish outfit Sivasspor.

Fresh from a 2-1 home win over reigning Serie A champions AC Milan last time out, Fiorentina will be looking to pick up where they left off in the Europa Conference League. Following a runner-up finish in Group A (W4, D1, L1), Vincenzo Italiano’s charges thumped Sporting Braga 7-2 on aggregate in the knockout playoffs to set up this tie. ‘La Viola’ have traditionally enjoyed vast success against Turkish clubs in European football, picking up seven wins in eight duels (L1), including qualifiers. The continuation of that record seems inevitable after Fiorentina hit the ground running in mid-February, going unbeaten in five straight matches in the run-up to this clash (W4, D1).

As for Sivasspor, a top-place finish in Europa Conference League Group G helped them bypass the knockout playoffs, yet a three-game unbeaten run in Europe’s third-tier competition (W2, D1) should keep them sharp. Indeed, the Turkish visitors have only lost two of their six away European matches (W3, D1), including qualifiers, setting themselves up nicely for their first-ever knockout fixture on hostile turf. Yet, after winning three consecutive domestic games ‘to nil,’ Riza Calimbay’s men succumbed to a morale-damaging 4-3 defeat at Fatih Karagumruk last time out, showing their backline is not as impenetrable as it looked.