Vincenzo Italiano wants to ensure Fiorentina do not ‘lose our enthusiasm’ after recent poor results as they take on Cukaricki. ‘All it takes is a spark.’
It kicks off on Thursday at 17.45 GMT in Serbia.
When these sides met at the Stadio Franchi on October 26, the Viola ran out 6-0 winners against 10 men, but it was a rare bright spot in their recent form.
The Tuscans have lost three Serie A matches in a row, all of them without finding the net against Empoli, Lazio and Juventus.
“We want to forget about those defeats. Obviously, we are not happy, but the reality is that although the performances were not bad, we are not bringing home points at the moment. We created so many chances and are not finishing them,” said Italiano in his press conference.
Lucas Beltran finally broke his duck in that 6-0 win over Cukaricki, but has otherwise only fired blanks this season.
He is out of the trip to Serbia tomorrow, having sustained a heavy knock to the hip against Juventus.
“We will try to react in the Conference League. I am convinced it won’t take much for us to get back on track and be every bit as effective as we were at the start of the season,” added the coach.
“Negative moments happen for strikers, but we must not lose our enthusiasm. All it takes is a spark to change the course of a campaign.”
Also still on the treatment table are Michael Kayode, Dodo and Gaetano Castrovilli.