Missing Players and team news:
Verona captain Miguel Veloso was unexpectedly absent from the squad which faced Sampdoria on Saturday, as he is expected to undergo surgery on his neck. The veteran midfielder – who has contributed two goals and two assists in 20 Serie A appearances this season – has opted to address the long-running problem and may not return until the final fixtures of the season. In his absence, Stefano Sturaro and Antonin Barak surprisingly started in the middle, though Adrien Tameze was introduced from the bench and could start on Tuesday. Ronaldo Vieira and Mert Cetin are expected to remain unavailable for the hosts though, while Nikola Kalinic continues his comeback from a thigh strain and hopes to feature on the bench. Only ineffective January signing Aleksandr Kokorin is set to miss out for Fiorentina with a thigh strain, as the away side travel at close to full strength. Defensive mainstay Lucas Martinez Quarta was dropped at the weekend, but is likely to return to Beppe Iachini’s starting XI, while young Christian Kouame is in contention to partner top scorer Dusan Vlahovic up front, as 38-year-old Franck Ribery may struggle to start twice within a matter of days.
