Cesena vs Fiorentina preview - Viola target Europa berth
Posted Sunday, April 03, 2011 by PA
Fiorentina are setting their sights firmly on qualifying for next season's Europa League.
The Viola visit struggling Cesena looking to reignite their hopes of a surprise run for a European berth.
"There is every possibility for us to finish in the top six in Serie A and qualify for the Europa League," said Fiorentina midfielder Mario Santana.
"There are eight games left to play and anything can happen.
"We still have room for improvement and I'm confident we can end the season in the best possible way."
Fiorentina currently lie in ninth place, nine points behind Roma who hold the last European qualifying spot.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's men held Roma to a 2-2 draw in the last round of games to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
However, Fiorentina must brace themselves for a challenging run-in, with games against AC Milan, Juventus, Udinese and Inter Milan around the corner.
"It's going to be a big test for us," said Santana. "But we are growing as a team and we know we must get as many points as possible, starting on Sunday."
Fiorentina will be looking for just their third win on the road this campaign.
Cesena, meanwhile, have lost twice at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi this year.
The promoted outfit will be under pressure to take a result against Fiorentina knowing that a defeat could see them fall into the relegation zone.
Cesena lost 1-0 at Lazio last time out and are one place and one point above 18th-place Lecce.
Cesena coach Massimo Ficcadenti is optimistic about his team's chances of beating the drop.
"We can still do it," Ficcadenti said.
"We proved that we can compete against Lazio and there's no reason why we cannot take a positive result against Fiorentina on Sunday.
"We can save ourselves, especially by winning our remaining home games."
Fiorentina will be without injured midfielder Valon Behrami.
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