Fiorentina hold a narrow 1-0 advantage in the tie after winning the first leg in Germany care of Federico Bernardeschi’s lone goal. That win puts them in prime position to seal the deal at home, where they have been outstanding all season long.
Fiorentina are undefeated in 12 Serie A home games (six wins, six draws) this season. They are 3-1-0 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi since returning from the winter break, which includes a win over leaders Juventus. They also won their first two home games in the Europa League by a combined score of 8-1, but lost their most recent home game to PAOK Salonika, 3-2. That’s their lone home loss in all competitions this season.
Striker Nikola Kalinic found the net in Fiorentina’s 2-1 away defeat against Milan last weekend, and will be a big threat to find it again in the second leg against Gladbach. Kalinic is the team’s leading scorer in the Europa League with four goals in five games. He’s scored in his last three Europa League starts, and also has four goals in his last five home starts.
Borussia Monchengladbach may have just blown their best chance of reaching the Europa League round of 16. By losing at home, they now have to do something they haven’t done very often this season – get an away win.
Gladbach have won just twice in 10 away games in the Bundesliga (2-2-6) and have scored only seven goals, the second-fewest total in the entire division However, both of those wins have come within the last month, and are unbeaten in their last four away games in all competitions (three wins, one draw).
They also didn’t have much fun on their travels in the Champions League group stage, where they were thumped 4-0 away at both Man City and Barcelona. But they did score a 2-0 win over Celtic.
The Germans could still be without Raffael, who hasn’t played in nearly three weeks. The Brazilian is one of the main goalscoring options on the team with five goals, and his absence will be sorely missed.
Writer’s Prediction
Fiorentina (+137) finish the deal with a 1-0 home win over Gladbach.
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