Fiorentina vs Cesena preview - Montella focused on Euro push

Vincenzo Montella pointed to an energy-sapping Europa League campaign when identifying why Fiorentina have floundered in Serie A - but he remains determined to guide his team back into the competition.

A fourth-placed finish in 2013-14 secured European football at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and La Viola have excelled on Thursday nights, reaching the semi-finals where they will tackle holders Sevilla this month.

Their ambitious and attractive playing style has continued to impress in the league this season, but performances have been flatter and their collection of results leaves them in a disappointing seventh with five games left.

Fiorentina ran Juventus close in Turin on Wednesday night, only to miss a late penalty and succumb to a 3-2 loss.

Ahead of Sunday's meeting with Cesena in Tuscany, head coach Montella has demanded a concerted response.

"We were not inferior to Juventus," he told the Corriere dello Sport. "It's just too bad that certain incidents hurt us.

"We must not lose sight of the positives and keep pushing on from this point.

"We can still get into Europe - we will do it - and then we'll be back in the Europa League.

"Perhaps we'd have done a bit better in the league if we'd not used up so much energy elsewhere."

Defender Gonzalo Rodriguez, who scored one penalty before missing another in midweek, is suspended, while striker Giuseppe Rossi remains sidelined through injury.

Nineteenth-placed Cesena are without the likes of Guido Marilungo, Stefano Lucchini and Nico Pulzetti with Gabriele Perico serving a one-match ban.

The Seahorses are also trying to climb just two places to achieve their ends, which in their case means surviving.

Cesena were leading Atalanta 2-1 in midweek until Mauricio Pinilla salvaged an invaluable point for the 17th-placed team, leaving Domenico Di Carlo's men eight points adrift of safety.

"I cannot criticise my team for anything they did," the Cesena boss told his club's website. "The boys played with heart, determination and courage right to the fifth minute of stoppage time.

"We were missing a bit of luck and we deserved all three points after getting back into the game.

"It is now our duty to fight right to the very end."