Preview: Fiorentina vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur face a crucial trip to Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday as they try to reach the last 16 of the competition.

The last-32 tie is finely balanced after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at White Hart Lane last week.

Roberto Soldado gave Spurs an early lead, but Fiorentina managed to get themselves an important away goal through Jose Basanta.

Despite their strong showing in the Europa League this season, concerns have been raised over whether the Tottenham players will have one eye on Sunday's League Cup final against Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino's side have struggled for form in recent weeks, drawing two and losing one of their last three matches in all competitions.

Their most recent outing provided high drama as they needed a 96th-minute goal from Harry Kane to earn them a 2-2 draw at home to local rivals West Ham United in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina have been impressive since the start of 2015, putting together a 10-match unbeaten run both at home and in Europe. However, they have failed to win their previous two games.

The visitors have no fresh injury concerns going into the match, but Pochettino could be tempted to rest one or two of his key players ahead of their trip to Wembley Stadium this weekend.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina could be without Ciprian Tatarusanu and Borja Valero. Long-term absentees Giuseppe Rossi and Federico Bernardeschi will definitely miss out.

Fiorentina:

Form in Europa League: WWDWLD Form in all competitions: DWWWDD

Possible starting lineup: Neto; Rodriguez, Savic, Pizarro, Mati Fernandez; Joaquin, Basanta, Valero, Pasqual; Gomez, Salah

Spurs:

Form in Europa League: DWWWLD Form in all competitions: DWWLDD

Possible starting lineup: Lloris; Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Bentaleb, Paulinho, Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend; Soldado

Sports Mole says: 2-1