Fiorentina reached the Coppa Italia Final last season and Vincenzo Italiano assures they want to do it again, but Nico Gonzalez is rested tomorrow against Parma.
The Round of 16 tie will be decided on the night after 90 minutes, or extra time and penalties if necessary.
Lucas Martinez-Quarta is suspended, while Nico Gonzalez is left out of the squad so that he can focus on being at 100 per cent for the weekend’s Serie A clash with Roma, a head-to-head for fourth place.
The Viola have already set a new club record by scoring 102 goals in a single calendar year, thanks to going all the way in both the Coppa Italia and Europa Conference League, losing to Inter and West Ham United.
“I am glad we scored many goals and still have a few games to improve that record even more. The objective must be to win games, then if we score more goals too, all the better,” Italiano told the official Fiorentina website.
“I congratulated the lads for their reaction when we had a difficult period and now we must try to find some consistency. We proved that we are a team who can cause problems for any opponent.”
While they reached the Conference League Final too last season, the Coppa Italia Final defeat to Inter also stung and is perhaps the one they can aim for this time around.
“It is an important competition, losing that Final left a bitter taste in the mouth. We want to keep dreaming and will do everything possible to progress in the tournament. Parma are doing very well in Serie B, they have enthusiasm and players of quality, while they have nothing to lose.”
Fiorentina squad: Terracciano, Christensen, Vannucchi; Biraghi, Kayode, Milenkovic, Mina, Parisi, N. Pierozzi, Ranieri, Comuzzo; Arthur, Barak, Maxime Lopez, Infantino, Duncan, Amatucci, Mandragora, Bonaventura; Sottil, Nzola, Kouame, Beltran, Brekalo, Ikone