Fiorentina director Joe Barone wants a repeat of the Conference League Final for his side and is ‘proud’ to represent Italy in the Belgian town of Genk with such a large Italian community.
It kicks off in Belgium at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT).
The Viola reached the Final of the Conference League last season, suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat to West Ham United, and are hoping to do even better this time around.
“Fiorentina want to do very well in this competition, as last season we felt that we missed out on something important in the Final and we want to take this team as far as possible, to dream of something special,” director Barone told Sky Sport Italia.
Giacomo Bonaventura, Yerry Mina, Jonathan Ikone and Gaetano Castrovilli are out injured, but Lucas Beltran starts upfront with Nico Gonzalez and Riccardo Sottil.
“Having three lads in this side who came through the youth academy is already something to be proud of. It doesn’t matter who scores the goals, but it takes time and patience for those who come into a new league to understand the situation.
“Beltran is a player we made a big investment in, as we did with Nzola, so we have patience to wait for them.”
There is a very large Italian community in Belgium and they are also coming to support Fiorentina.
“President Rocco Commisso and I grew up in America, so we know what that means to be Italians abroad and the experience of immigrants. We feel very proud to be representing Italy here in Genk this evening.”
According to local reports in Het Laatste Nieuws, there were clashes between Racing Genk and Fiorentina supporters outside the stadium before the match.
It is claimed that as many as 100 Fiorentina fans were arrested and will not be allowed to enter the arena to watch the game.