Fiorentina” data-scaytid=”1″>Fiorentina put their faith in Joaquin, Ryder Matos and Olexandr Yakovenko against Pandurii this evening.
Fiorentina put their faith in Joaquin, Ryder Matos and Olexandr Yakovenko against Pandurii this evening.
The Viola aim to continue their 100 per cent record in Europa League Group E, having already beaten Pacos Ferreira and Dnipro.
It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 20.05 UK time (19.05 GMT).
Giuseppe Rossi, Stefan Savic, Manuel Pasqual, Juan Cuadrado and Alberto Aquilani are rested with Massimo Ambrosini and Mario Gomez out injured.
David Pizarro sits out a ban following his card against Dnipro, so Mati Fernandez and Marko Bakic receive rare starts.
In attack it’s a whole new trident with Joaquin celebrating his first goal for the Viola in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Juventus. He’s joined by Yakovenko and Brazilian Matos.
It’s an important test for Yakovenko, who has so far made just two appearances for a total 48 minutes of football.
Romanians Pandurii have one point from two Group E games, earned in a 1-1 draw in Portugal against Pacos Ferreira.
This is the club’s first season in Europe, as they finished second in their domestic League last season.
Their star player is striker Deivydas Matulevicius, though Alexandru Ciucur is also one to watch after scoring two goals in qualifying.
There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off and Fiorentina wear black armbands after the death of Lorenzo Righetti, who was President of the club from 1986 to 1990. He started his career as a referee before moving on to become President of the Lega Calcio from 1978-81 and then in charge of the Viola.
Fiorentina: Neto; Tomovic, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Compper, Alonso; Bakic, Borja Valero, Mati Fernandez; Joaquin, Matos, Yakovenko
Fiorentina bench: Munua, Roncaglia, Savic, Pasqual, Aquilani, Cuadrado, Rossi
Pandurii: Stanca; Ungurusan, Erico, Christou, Momcilovic; Eric, Breeveld, Anton, Dos Santos; Ciucur, Matulevicius
Pandurii bench: Mingote, Sipo, Mamele, Buleica, Cristea, Distefano, Nicoara