Roma v Fiorentina preview

A win or a goalless draw will take AS Roma through to the UEFA Europa League round of 16 as they look to build on a precious equaliser at ACF Fiorentina.

What they say
Rudi Garcia, Roma coach: "We want to go on in the competition. We will do everything we possibly can to get to the quarter-finals. We have to concentrate on this match because the UEFA Europa League is a very important aspect to our season. I hope the fans will support us because without them everything is harder."

Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina coach: "Fiorentina are ready for what will be a very important match. Mario Gomez trained fully and is definitely available. This will be the fifth time we face Roma this season and I don't think either of us will have been happy with the draw. However, you will see a beautiful match. This is a difficult time for Roma, but they have a lot of fantastic players."

Previous meetings
• Josip Iličić put Fiorentina in front in the first leg, and Neto preserved their lead, saving Adem Ljajić's penalty, but Seydou Keita's header (77) earned Roma a 1-1 draw in Florence in the sides' first European meeting.

• Fiorentina have already beaten Roma in a knockout tie in the capital this season, in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals. On 3 February, a Mario Gomez double at the Stadio Olimpico gave Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina a 2-0 win – the coach's first against his old club with the Viola.

• Roma were 2-0 home winners against Fiorentina on 30 August 2014, the first day of the Serie A season, thanks to goals from Radja Nainggolan (28 minutes) and Gervinho (90+3). The game in Florence on 25 January finished 1-1, Ljajić (49) cancelling out Gomez's opener (19).

• In 159 competitive domestic meetings Roma have managed 52 wins to Fiorentina's 49, with 58 games drawn.

Form guide
• Roma's only previous European encounters with Italian opponents were in the final of the 1990/91 UEFA Cup, where a 1-0 home win failed to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against FC Internazionale Milano.

• Having lost over two legs to Juventus in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup final (3-1 a, 0-0 h), Fiorentina bowed out to their Serie A rivals again in last season's round of 16 (1-1 a, 0-1 h). Their record in five European games against Italian sides is now W0 D3 L2.

• A 0-0 draw or a victory would take Roma through, but they have not won in three European home games (D1 L2) since a 5-1 defeat of PFC CSKA Moskva in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage fixture this season. They have gone 12 games without a clean sheet in European games in Rome, since beating PFC CSKA Sofia 2-0 in October 2009.

• By contrast, Fiorentina are unbeaten in ten European away games (W7 D3), failing to score in only one of those matches – a 0-0 draw at FC Paços de Ferreira in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage. The last nine of those fixtures have been in the competition proper, meaning the Viola are one away from breaking the tournament record for successive away matches without defeat. 

• Roma last reached the round of 16 in this competition in 2005/06, when they were beaten by Middlesbrough FC on away goals. They were eliminated in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1992/93, 1995/96 and 1998/99.

• Fiorentina last made it through the last 16 in 2007/08, when they were beaten by Rangers FC on penalties in the semi-finals.

Trivia and links
• Fiorentina's David Pizarro (2006–12) and Alberto Aquilani (2002–09) both spent significant spells at Roma, while Ljajić left the Viola to join Roma in summer 2013 after three seasons in Tuscany.

• Marin and Roma's Ashley Cole were team-mates at Chelsea FC from 2012 to 2014, though the German was out on loan for much of that period.

• With 39 strikes to date, Fiorentina's Gomez needs one more goal to move above Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and become the fourth higest-scoring German player in UEFA's club competitions. Gerd Müller (62), Jupp Heynckes (45) and Ulf Kirsten (43) occupy the top slots.

• Roma and Fiorentina are among five Italian clubs in the round of 16; only once before has one nation been represented by so many sides at this stage, West Germany having provided five contenders in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup.

The coaches
• The son of a footballer, Roma's French coach Rudi Garcia was a midfielder for LOSC Lille and SM Caen, among others, though he was forced to retire aged 28. He studied and did media work before making his name as a coach with AS Saint-Étienne and Dijon FCO. His attack-minded LOSC side won the French title and Coupe de France in 2010/11, with Roma bringing him in as coach in June 2013.

• Fiorentina boss since June 2012, Montella was known as 'L'Aeroplanino' (the Little Aeroplane) because of his modest stature and trademark goal celebrations during his time as a striker. An Italian international, he won the 2000/01 Serie A title with Roma, and scored 83 goals in all competitions for the club from 1997–2008.

• Montella also started his coaching career at Roma. Initially a youth coach, he replaced Claudio Ranieri at the helm in February 2011 and helped them to finish sixth in the league. He later coached Calcio Catania.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Roma's record in four UEFA competition penalty shoot-outs is W1 L3 (W0 L1 at home):
4-2 v IFK Norrköping (A), 1982/83 UEFA Cup second round
2-4 v Liverpool FC (N)*, 1983/84 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
3-4 v Real Zaragoza (A), 1986/1987 European Cup Winners' Cup first round
6-7 v Arsenal FC (H), 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16

*Officially designated a neutral ground for the final, the game was played in the Stadio Olimpico, Roma's home stadium.

• Fiorentina's record in five UEFA competition penalty shoot-outs is W3 L2 (W1 L1 away from home):
1-3 v Boavista FC (A), 1986/87 UEFA Cup first round
3-1 v Club Atlético de Madrid (H), 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round
4-3 v FC Groningen (H), 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round
4-2 v Everton FC (A), 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 16
2-4 v Rangers FC (H), 2007/08 UEFA Cup semi-finals