Seeking to reach a second successive Europa Conference League final, Fiorentina welcome Club Brugge to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the first leg of their semi-final showdown on Thursday night.
La Viola required extra time to edge past Viktoria Plzen in the quarter-finals, while Club Brugge secured a safe passage through to the last four with a comfortable two-legged win over Molde.
Match preview
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After scraping past Maccabi Haifa by a 5-4 aggregate scoreline in the last 16, Fiorentina had difficulty finding their way past a resilient Viktoria Plzen backline in the quarter-finals, and it looked as if penalties would be required to separate the two teams following a goalless stalemate across the two-legged affair.
However, the resilience of Fiorentina's Czech-based opponents eventually buckled in extra time, as Nicolas Gonzalez and Cristiano Biraghi both scored to seal a 2-0 aggregate victory for La Viola, extending their unbeaten run in the competition to 11 matches.
Vincenzo Italiano's side have since experienced mixed fortunes on the domestic front, as a 2-0 Serie A win over already-relegated Salernitana was followed by a disappointing 4-2 aggregate defeat to Atalanta BC in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, crashing out courtesy of a 4-1 second-leg defeat last week.
However, Fiorentina responded in emphatic fashion as they thrashed Sassuolo 5-1 in Serie A last Sunday - their joint-biggest league win of the season. La Viola now sit eighth in the table, but seven points behind the top seven with only five games remaining, so winning the Conference League arguably represents their best chance of qualifying for UEFA competition next season.
Fiorentina have never faced Club Brugge before, but they will be confident of success in Thursday's first leg as they have only lost one of their last nine home games in all competitions since the beginning of February, while Basel were the last team to condemn La Viola to a Conference League home defeat, winning 2-1 in May 2023.
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Club Brugge have advanced to their first European semi-final for 32 years after beating PAOK 3-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and they are now targeting a return to Greece for the Conference League final in Athens on June 7.
Blauw-Zwart have had their ups and downs this term, particularly on the domestic front, but since the dismissal of Ronny Deila in March, caretaker boss Nicky Hayen has stepped in and worked wonders, following up a draw in his first match with seven successive victories in all competitions, with his team scoring 18 goals and conceding only two in the process.
Hayen's side enter Thursday's contest in buoyant mood after beating Genk both home and away in the Belgian Pro League by an aggregate score of 7-0 in the space of just four days. A 3-0 away win on Sunday has moved them level on points with league leaders Anderlecht heading into their final four fixtures.
While reclaiming the top-flight crown will be high on the agenda for Club Brugge, European glory is also firmly in their sights and an impressive run of six wins in their last seven Conference League away games bodes well ahead of their trip to Florence.
However, success is not a given for Blauw-Zwart, as they have failed to win any of their last 11 visits to Italy in European competition, losing seven and drawing four.
Team News
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Fiorentina's only injury concern is with midfielder Rolando Mandragora who is nursing a back issue, while striker M'Bala Nzola is set to remain absent due to personal reasons.
After making a number of changes to his starting lineup last weekend, Italiano is expected to recall some of his senior stars on Thursday, with first-choice goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, centre-back Nikola Milenkovic and captain Cristiano Biraghi all set to return.
Arthur and Alfred Duncan may retain their places in centre-midfield, but Giacomo Bonaventura is expected to replace Antonin Barak in the number 10 role, while top scorer Nicolas Gonzalez - who has 13 goals to his name in all competitions this term - could be joined in attack by Christian Kouame and Andrea Belotti.
As for Club Brugge, Andreas Skov Olsen recovered from a hip injury to make the matchday squad last weekend, and the winger is in contention to feature in some capacity on Thursday.
Hayen will ponder whether to stick with Nordin Jackers between the sticks or recall former Liverpool shot-stopper Simon Mignolet, who has recently recovered from a hamstring problem.
Ferran Jutgla scored twice in the second-leg win over PAOK, but he could be replaced up front by 28-goal Brentford-bound striker Igor Thiago, who served a continental suspension last time out.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Kayode, Milenkovic, Martinez, Biraghi; Arthur, Duncan; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Kouame; Belotti
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Jackers; Sabbe, Ordonez, Alvarez, Meijer; Vetlesen, Onyedika, Vanaken; Skoras, Thiago, Nusa
We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Club Brugge
Although Fiorentina will enter Thursday's contest as slight favourites, there is little to separates these two teams. Club Brugge have excelled since the arrival of Hayen, but this will be their biggest test yet and the spoils could be shared on this occasion to keep the tie finely poised ahead of the second leg in Belgium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
