Qarabag vs Fiorentina – Thursday 17:00 GMT/19: CET at Tofiq Bahramov Republican stadium Baku.
The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku will host the game Qarabag vs Fiorentina – Image by Eminn CC-BY-SA-4.0
Qarabag were set to write history on matchday 5—all they needed was a positive result against Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic, and a win by Fiorentina against PAOK, and Qarabag would have been through to the round of 32.
It would have been the first time for a team from Azerbaijan to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament, but Qarabag lost 3-0 to Slovan Liberec, and Fiorentina was defeated 3-2 by PAOK.
Qarabag and PAOK are now even with seven points with Qarabag holding the tiebreaker, as they have defeated PAOK in both games. Hence, Qarabag will be through if PAOK lose, regardless of the result against Fiorentina on matchday 6.
But PAOK have demonstrated against Fiorentina that they can be a force to be reckoned with and, with Qarabag needing to match any result that PAOK achieves at home against Slovan, the Azeri are left with the thankless task of having to defeat the Italians.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, is in a very comfortable position, as they are through, unless they lose and PAOK win, in which case, it would come down to three-way head-to-head. In this scenario, the outcome would depend on the goals scored in the game between Fiorentina and Qarabag, with Qarabag needing to overcome the 5-1 deficit from matchday 2, in order to advance.
Qarabag vs Fiorentina – Players to look out for:
Brazilian forward Reynaldo is the club’s top forward with four goals in eight matches thus far in the Premyer Liqasi. The striker, however, has battled injuries somewhat this season, and was brought on late in Qarabag’s 3-0 matchday 5 defeat against Slovan Liberec. Signed from RSC Anderlecht in January 2013, Reynaldo has seen his goal scoring return diminish in the last few seasons. He scored 24 goals in 31 games in the 2013-14 season, but then his numbers were reduced significant to 14 goals in 25 games in the 2014-15 season, and five goals in 14 matches last season. Some of this has been due to injury, however, and the Brazilian, if fit, remains a dangerous striker.
Qarabag vs Fiorentina – Match Stats
- Qarabag are unbeaten in five European home matches (W3 D2).
- A shock 3-2 home reverse to PAOK on matchday 5 ended Fiorentina’s unbeaten run in this year’s Europa League.
- Fiorentina have always qualified from the group stage of the Europa League or UEFA Cup.
- Fiorentina scored three times in the first nine minutes, and beat Qarabag 5-1 on matchday 2.
- It was the only meeting ever between the two sides.
- Qarabag took on Inter Milan in the 2013-14 season losing 2-0 in Italy, and drawing 0-0 at home.
Futbolgrad’s Prediction: Qarabag vs Fiorentina 1-1
Qarabag vs Fiorentina – Possible Lineups
Qarabag
Formation: 4-5-1
Sehic – Agolli, Guseynov, Medvedev, Dashdemirov – Muarem, Michel, Garayev, Richard, Quintana – Reynaldo
Manager: Gurban Gurbanov
Fiorentina
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Tatarusanu – Milic, Astori, Rodriguez, Salcedo – Tello, Valero, Badelj – Bernardeschi, Iličic – Kalinić
Manager: Paulo Sousa
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