Cesc Fabregas says he has no hesitation about handing 19-year-old Mattia Liberali his first start for Como as they face Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence.
The match kicks off at 14.00 UK time (15.00 CEST), with live coverage also following Milan-Atalanta and Juventus-Lazio.
Como are adapting to the demands of Champions League football despite having never previously played in Europe. Their squad has been stretched by the increase in fixtures, and they have taken only one point from their past two Serie A matches.
Their difficult week continued with a first UEFA defeat away to Feyenoord on Wednesday. Assane Diao was injured in that game and joins Moise Kean on the treatment table.
There was another late setback before kick-off when Yan Couto withdrew during the warm-up. Ivan Smolcic replaced him.
Fabregas has made a number of changes to his starting XI, including giving Liberali his first start. The Italy youth international joined Como earlier in his career and has impressed his manager with his progress.
“Liberali is an excellent player who looks a bit stronger physically than he was when he first arrived,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.
“He is at the start of his career, we had so many young players come through here, I am not afraid of using them, all I ask is that they show courage and work for the team.”
The Como manager also acknowledged the difficulty of balancing squad rotation with the demands of a congested schedule.
“It is always difficult, because there are so many players who deserve time, and it’s also tough when there are so many games close together,” he said.
“Some are getting used to playing with our system, so I need to evaluate how many changes to make and when. It’s a process of adaptation for all of us, we need to be on the same level.”
Fiorentina are also looking for a response after slipping back into the danger zone. Vanoli’s return to take over from Fabio Grosso initially brought a 4-2 victory over Fiorentina and a draw against Napoli, but that momentum was halted by a 2-1 defeat by Genoa.
“We need to learn from our mistakes,” Vanoli told DAZN Italia.
“We’ve always gone behind, so that means we need to start better and defend as a unit.”
Vanoli said he selects his team according to the demands of each match. Beto and Pellegrino are both competing for places and could feature together, although he stressed that the decision is tactical.
“We want to find greater consistency,” he added.
