Palladino: ‘Fiorentina did not expect to be here for magical night’ | OneFootball

Raffaele Palladino admits he ‘did not expect’ Fiorentina to be in a Scudetto showdown with Inter after seven straight Serie A wins, but ‘dreams can come true’ and he is looking forward to a ‘magical night.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

This would’ve been sold out, but the stadium is undergoing reconstruction work and is open only with a limited capacity, but the passion is still palpable after seven consecutive Serie A victories.

“It’s wonderful to see the joy and enthusiasm in the eyes of the fans,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“We must be aware that we are facing the Champions of Italy, so it will not be easy, but we still want to measure ourselves up against them. We need this big test to see how far we are in the process.”

Palladino has found his feet at Fiorentina

epa11698919 Fiorentina’s Moise Kean jubilates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match Torino FC vs AC Fiorentina at the Olimpico Grande Torino Stadium in Turin, Italy, 3 November 2024. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

Albert Gudmundsson and Lucas Martinez Quarta are only fit for the bench, while Amir Richardson is out of action, but Moise Kean leads the attack after he was rested in Thursday’s 3-2 Conference League victory over Pafos.

“We require a great performance, focus on the details, attacking and defending as a unit. Inter know how to defend deep or attack in numbers, they have talented players who can change the game at any moment and are dangerous from set plays. We studied them carefully, but we also believe we can hurt them and give a magical night to these fans,” explained Palladino.

It was not a great start to his experience at Fiorentina, partly because it began earlier due to the Europa Conference League play-offs, but Palladino has well and truly found his feet now.

When beginning the campaign, did he expect the Viola to be joint second going into the Week 14 fixtures?

“In all honesty, I did not expect to be here right now, but my staff and players are very ambitious. Dreams can come true and it’s wonderful to be here at this stage of the season. I thank the lads, as they allowed us to prepare for this magical night and we want to crown it with a victory.”