Palladino: ‘ Want ferocious Fiorentina start’ in Conference League quarter final 2nd leg

TURIN, ITALY – DECEMBER 29: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Fiorentina, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and Fiorentina at Allianz Stadium on December 29, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino wants a ‘ferocious’ mentality against Celje in the Conference League quarter-final. ‘Start strong to send a signal to the opponents, our fans, and to ourselves.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Lazio vs. Bodo/Glimt on the Liveblog.

The Viola won the first leg 2-1 in Slovenia last week and have won all of their Conference League home fixtures so far this season.

The winners go on to play either Real Betis or Jagiellonia in the semi-finals, with Fiorentina hoping to reach their third consecutive semi in this competition.

Palladino hopes for birthday gift from Fiorentina

“Thank you very much,” said Palladino when the Sky Sport Italia studio wished him a happy birthday.

“We need the right mentality tonight, it has to be ferocious against a quality side, which we already saw in the first leg. They play good football, so we’ve got to give it all we’ve got in front of our fans.

“It is important to get off to a strong start to send a signal to the opponents, our fans, and to ourselves, showing just how much we want to reach the semi-final.”

Fiorentina are also pushing hard in Serie A to get back into the top places for the Europa League or Conference League qualification.

“We want to give consistency to our results and performances. We care a lot about this competition, so while some might’ve thought we could snub it, that was never the case. This is a European tournament, we want to keep going, as winning helps you to keep winning. It is very important that we progress to the next phase.”

Celje were impressive in the first leg, forcing a couple of big David De Gea saves, and their coach hinted at a possible change of tactics in Florence.

“Obviously, we’ll discover when the game starts if they have done something different. We prepared two or three different game plans, we know their tactical principles, which are more important than the shape of the team,” added Palladino.

“They like to keep the ball and play good football, so we intend to take the initiative off them. We expect another open match and Celje have quality individual players. We are ready.”