Conference League: Mainz vs. Fiorentina – Probable line-ups and where to watch

Daniele Galloppa will lead Fiorentina into their Conference League tie away against Mainz on Thursday evening, following the sacking of head coach Stefano Pioli earlier this week. 

Pioli was dismissed as head coach of Fiorentina on Tuesday after a run of 10 matches without a win at the start of the Serie A season. 

Galloppa will be in charge on Thursday evening, but it is understood that Paolo Vanoli could be in charge by the time the Viola take on Genoa in a now crucial league match on Sunday. 

Pre-match reports indicate that Galloppa could look to rest several first-team players for the Genoa match, and go with a rotated XI for the Mainz game on Thursday. 

Moise Kean is expected to start on the bench, with Roberto Piccoli and Jacopo Fazzini in line for starts up front. As he did last time out in the Conference League, 19-year-old Niccolo Fortini could start over Dodo at right wing-back. 

Kick-off is due at 17.45 GMT. 

Mainz (3-4-2-1): Zentner; Maloney, Hance-Olsen, Kohr; Mwene, Sano, Amri, Widmer; Hollebarch, Nebel; Lee.

Fiorentina (3-5-2): Martinelli; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Fortini, Mandragora, Nicolussi Caviglia, Fagioli, Parisi; Piccoli, Fazzini. 

Tonight’s game will be available to watch live in the UK on TNT Sports 6 and online through Discovery+. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in through Paramount+. 

Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.