Fiorentinavs.Pafos

With six points apiece from three matches, the pair head into the second half of the league phase with one eye on automatic entry to the knockout rounds.

Match preview

The sole setback amid some fine form since the end of September, Fiorentina recently suffered their first defeat in this season's Conference League, losing 2-1 to APOEL in Nicosia, with Jonathan Ikone scoring their only goal.

That aside, the Viola have been a team transformed of late, sweeping all before them at home and abroad: having seen off The New Saints in their league-phase opener, they then defeated St Gallen 4-2 thanks to an Ikone brace - and their Serie A form has been even better.

When international football intervened, Raffaele Palladino's side had won six league games on the spin, and they returned to action with a 2-0 victory in Como on Sunday, with in-form Moise Kean scoring the second at Stadio Sinigaglia.

Now closing in on a club record of eight straight top-flight wins, which was set way back in 1960, the Tuscan outfit are clinical in attack and have also tightened up defensively, keeping five consecutive clean sheets away from home for just the second time in their Serie A history.

Before resuming an unexpected Scudetto challenge against reigning champions Inter Milan at the weekend, Fiorentina must first tend to the Conference League.

While it is a competition in which Palladino heavily rotates his squad, they will still expect to go far, having been runners-up in both of the last two seasons.

After Pafos defeated Astana 1-0 in their most recent continental contest - Anderson Silva finally scoring the only goal after 87 minutes of domination - they sit alongside Fiorentina in the Conference League table.

The Cypriot side kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 win over Petrocub Hincesti, before losing at home to Heidenheim, all of which leaves them in a playoff place and within striking distance of the all-important top eight.

Ahead of Thursday's glamour game in Florence, the ambitious 10-year-old club have recorded five straight wins across all competitions, and they sit top of the pile in Cyprus with a remarkable record this season.

Spanish coach Juan Carlos Carcedo has led his team to 10 wins and one draw from 11 league games so far, while conceding just six goals, and that sees them five points clear of second place.

After claiming their first silverware last term, lifting the cup to qualify for Europe, Pafos are therefore front-runners to be crowned national champions - particularly after beating Fiorentina's conquerors APOEL on Saturday.

Fiorentina Conference League form:

D

W

W

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L

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

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W

Pafos FC Conference League form:

W

L

W

W

L

W

Team News

After Danilo Cataldi returned to action at the weekend, Fiorentina's only absentees should be midfielder Amir Richardson and captain Cristiano Biraghi, providing Albert Gudmundsson successfully completes his comeback from a thigh injury.

Top scorer Moise Kean - who has found the net 12 times in 15 games since joining from Juventus - could be rested, as Raffaele Palladino fields a very different XI in Europe to that which starts in Serie A.

Christian Kouame and Jonathan Ikone are likely to come into the Viola's front line, with cup 'keeper Pietro Terracciano replacing David de Gea in goal.

Meanwhile, Pafos are expected to name a full-strength lineup, as a record 500 fans travel to Italy in hope of a famous upset.

Brazilian duo Joao Correia - who has scored twice in the Conference League this term - and club captain Jairo should lead the visitors' attack.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

Terracciano; Kayode, Moreno, Martinez Quarta, Parisi; Adli, Mandragora; Ikone, Bove, Sottil; Kouame

Pafos FC possible starting lineup:

Ivusic; Bruno, Luckassen, Goldar, J. Silva; Tankovic, Sunjic, Dragomir; Correia, Jairo, Jaja

We say: Fiorentina 2-1 Pafos FC

Having slipped up against one Cypriot team, Fiorentina should now dispatch another, though it may not be a straightforward process.

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