Comuzzo warning: ‘Fiorentina cannot underestimate Rakow’
Defender Pietro Comuzzo warns Fiorentina ‘cannot make the mistake of underestimating’ Rakow in the Conference League, nor getting distracted by their Serie A commitments.
It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).
The Viola scraped through to the Round of 16 after an extraordinary play-off with Jagiellonia, where they won the first leg 3-0 away, lost the second by the same result at home, just managing to get through in extra time, 5-4 on aggregate.
It was followed by a heavy 3-0 Serie A defeat to Udinese and disappointing 0-0 draw against Parma, so confidence is dipping lately.
Comuzzo keeps Fiorentina on their toes
“We cannot make the mistake of underestimating this match,” Comuzzo told Sky Sport Italia.
“Rakow are a strong side, they are unbeaten in the Conference League, so we must get out there with the right attitude from the start. It’s important to keep a clean sheet today.”
Moise Kean, Manor Solomon, Luca Lezzerini and Tariq Lamptey are all injured, plus Marin Pongracic sits out a ban in the Fiorentina defence.
There is a huge and potentially decisive relegation battle with Cremonese coming up in Serie A, so there has to be some squad rotation to be ready for that appointment.
“We’ve got to be focused, we can think about Serie A and Cremonese from tomorrow, right now is the Conference League,” warned Comuzzo.
It has not just been a difficult campaign for Fiorentina overall, but also the young defender who had been linked with a move to Napoli.
“It’s only natural expectations around me were raised after last season, and that there are some ups and downs, but I am convinced that with hard work we can all continue improving.”