Fiorentina vs Steaua Bucharest Champions League 08-09 Preview

Italian club Fiorentina is going to welcome Steaua Bucharest tonight at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy. Fiorentina started their Champions league campaign with a 2-2 draw away at Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), while Romanian club Steaua Bucharest started their Europe mission with a 1-0 home defeat to favorite Bayern Munich. So, Steaua Bucharest can not afford to suffer another defeat in their pursuit to reach the next round of the competition, while Fiorentina will look to continue their winning run in Europe, despite a sluggish start in Serie A.

Match: Fiorentina vs Steaua Bucharest (Bucharesti), Group F, Champions League 2008-2009

Date: 30 September 2008

Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy

Kick off: 19:45 BST (British Standard Time)

Fiorentina has so far been unimpressive in Series A, having played five matches. With two victories, two defeats and a draw, Fiorentina has managed only 7 points and currently stands 12^th in the league standing. Steaua Bucharest, on the other hand, has had a better domestic form as the Romanian club occupies third place in Liga 1 (Romania’s top football league) with 20 points from 9 matches. In their recent league schedule, Steaua Bucharest drew against defending champion Cluj. However, Steaua Bucharest must win at least a point in their visit to Florence as they lost all three points in their opening match against Bayern Munich.

Both the sides have some injury woes. Fiorentina player Manuel Pasqual will miss tonight’s encounter against Steaua Bucharest. However, Alessandro Gamberini is expected to be available after recovering his dislocating shoulder injury two weeks ago. Moreover, Gianluca Comotto might also be fit in time to face the Romanian club at home.

Steaua Bucharest needs to contend with the injury news of Emeghara and Plesan. Both the players have been ruled out of the match with injury. However, Banel Nicolita will be back in the line up after serving a match ban. The visiting side has no other injury woes ahead of the match.

Fiorentina may have a poor domestic form, but Steaua Bucharest can not relish on the recent form of Fiorentina. Rather, Steaua Bucharest will have to face very hard challenge from Fiorentina. For Fiorentina, it is a must win match, considering the fact that they are taking on the seemingly weakest side of the group at home. The Italian club still has away fixture at Bayern Munich and at Steaua Bucharest later on. So, Fiorentina will play for all three points, while Steaua Bucharest might be happy with a point from the match.