FIORENTINA vs. Roma: Lineups and Thread

Vincenzo Montella has named the Fiorentina side that he entrusts to get a good start to an all-Italian derby in the Europa League Round of 16. Khouma Babacar has struggled for fitness this week, but will start from the bench as Josip Ilicic will play as the false 9 again. Milan Badelj continues his run in the side, while Matias Fernandez gets a well-deserved rest. Gonzalo Rodriguez and (finally) Borja Valero return to the starting lineup, as Montella also bizarrely prefers Nenad Tomovic over Micah Richards on the right. It is possible that this last choice was made because this is actually a 3-5-2, with a Spanish set of wing backs in Joaquin and Marcos Alonso.

As far as Roma goes, "rotation" is the word. Rudi Garcia chooses his backup goalkeeper, and names a heavily rotated forward line, with Adem Ljajic in Francesco Totti's usual role, and Iturbe and Florenzi wide as support. It's a defense-first midfield for Roma, with all 3 in the center of the giallorossi set up more than capable of putting in a tackle.

The subs will almost certainly decide this game. Babacar and Mati could add an attacking spark from the bench for the Viola, while Roma could field any of Gervinho, Miralem Pjanic, Simone Verdi, and Seydou Doumbia in the second half.

OFFICIAL LINEUPS

FIORENTINA (4-3-3): NETO; TOMOVIC, GONZALO, BASANTA, ALONSO; BADELJ, PIZARRO, BORJA; JOAQUIN, ILICIC, SALAH

Roma (4-3-3): Skorupski; Torosidis, Manolas, Yanga Mbiwa, Holebas; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Keita; Iturbe, Ljajic, Florenzi