Late news
Mainz (2nd-last in the Bundesliga but 2/2 in the Conference League) has a spectacular injury crisis at the back (4 senior players unavailable), leading manager Bo Henriksen to call 18-year-old youth player Kacper
Potulski up from the youth side for his first-ever start.
Fiorentina is somehow even more chaotic, sitting at the bottom of Serie A and the top of the Conference League standings. Primavera manager Daniele Galloppa takes over for the fired Stefano Pioli and picks a clearly second-choice XI with an eye on the bottom-dweller 6-pointer on Sunday against Genoa. The biggest news may be that Tommaso Martinelli, the presumptive cup goalkeeper and long-term heir to David de Gea, finally gets a chance. Of interest to me is that Roberto Piccoli gets the nod ahead of Edin Džeko, but there’s only so much you can read into these tea leaves.
Lineups
Mainz (3-4-2-1): Zentner; Kohr, da Costa, Potulski; Mwene, Amiri, Maloney, Kawaski; Nebel, Sieb; Weiper
Fiorentina (3-5-2): Martinelli; Ranieri, Marí, Pongračić; Fortini, Ndour, Nicolussi Caviglia, Sohm, Dodô; Fazzini, Piccoli
How to watch
Check the safe, reliable, and legal options here for streaming and televised options. Any requests for or links to illegal streams will get you banned. We’ll be posting live updates on Twitter if that’s your thing. Otherwise, keep it in the comments for the usual mix of wailing and gnashing of teeth with the best damn sports community on the internet.
Forza Viola!
