Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino gives an injury update on Robin Gosens and insists he is not surprised Mateo Retegui starts for Atalanta. ‘You have to prepare two or three different approaches against Gian Piero Gasperini.’
It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).
There is a surprise in the Fiorentina squad, because Gosens is replaced by Fabiano Parisi and is not even on the bench.
“Gosens had a knock to the knee in training yesterday, he was a bit sore today and we’re not going to risk him,” Palladino told DAZN.
The Viola seem to have consolidated around a 3-5-2 formation after many tactical experiments this term.
“Our performances have been a bit up and down this season, but we seem to have found some stability with this tactical system, the team expresses itself in the best way.
“We hope to bring some consistency to recent good results. We know that we are facing a very strong team, but with our fans and our President in the stands too, we want to give them joy.”
Palladino admires Kean form for Fiorentina
Moise Kean leads the attack and is fresh from his brace for Italy in the 3-3 thriller against Germany, confirming an excellent period of form.
“Moise is fired up, focused. He has been a great professional this season, as confirmed by his statistics, but this is a team sport and he is working for the team, just as the team works to put him in a condition to score goals,” added Palladino.
Atalanta pulled a surprise too, as Retegui was only expected to be fit for the bench, but he is in the starting XI with Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere.
“When you play against Gasperini, you have to prepare for two or three different approaches, because he can have so many options. He uses a striker with two in support, or a trident attack, or an extra midfielder,” smiled Palladino.
“We knew that Retegui could recover, so we tested out every solution. The important thing today is to fight it out in every duel, as Atalanta press high and take the game to you.
“A match is decided by incidents and we will try to push those in our direction.”
