Fiorentina have won six, and drawn four, of their 13 league matches in 2026 to push themselves off the bottom of the Serie A table, and currently sit five points outside the relegation zone.
They come up against a recently resurgent Palace side, however, with Vanoli adding: “They’re clearly a well-organised team that is very good at transitions. They’re also good at counter-attacks.
"They play in the Premier League, which is the most competitive league in the world. It’s also very different from Serie A from a financial point of view. My personal experience was at Chelsea and I can say that the gap is huge. But, as I told the players this morning, this must be a source of pride for us.
“We must give it our all, bearing in mind that it’s a challenging environment, with a 25,000 capacity crowd, against a team with a strong home record. We must stay sharp as we will be playing a two-legged tie, not a one-off match.
"We must remain focused throughout the whole game. It will also be a way to see to what extent we have grown."
#### **From the pitch**
Croatia international defender **Marin Pongračić** – who played under Oliver Glasner at WfL Wolfsburg, and is a compatriot of Borna Sosa – also spoke at Fiorentina's pre-match press conference.
"I know \[JP\] Mateta," he revealed. "I played against him once in a Under-21 game between Croatia and France. It was a couple of years ago, but he was already a very physical and fast player, he’s very tall too.
"I also saw a few goals he scored last year in the Premier League. He’s a very dangerous striker. We must always be careful with these players when defending. We must always defend as a team.”