Fiorentina-Club Brugge is a match valid for the first leg of the Conference League semifinals and is played Thursday at 9 p.m.: live TV, likely lineups, predictions.
Get on the plane to Athens to erase the sad memory of Prague. Fiorentina puts another Conference League final in its sights after the one played last year and lost to West Ham due to defensive carelessness when extra time seemed inevitable.
The Viola have also been decidedly more consistent in the cups this season, and the goal is always to return to lift a trophy that Florence has been missing for more than two decades. The club, recently orphaned by general manager Joe Barone – who was crushed by a heart attack – wants it, but above all, coach Vincenzo Italiano, who has reportedly already told managers that he wants to pack his bags at the end of the season, considering his cycle on the banks of the Arno now over. In the Coppa Italia, things did not go their way – Fiorentina was overturned by Atalanta in the return semifinal – and now the Conference remains. Biraghi and his teammates in the previous two rounds overcame the obstacles Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen not without suffering: particularly sweaty was the qualification against the Czech catenacciari, bent only in the extra time of the return match at the “Franchi” at the end of a very long siege.
Seven wins in a row for the Belgians
In the semifinals another equally tough team awaits them, Club Brugge, which in the previous round won both the first leg and the return leg over the Greeks of PAOK (1-0 in Belgium and 0-2 in Greece).
The Belgians, who have been accustomed to treading the most important European stages for years now, have come back to shine just this term, regenerated by the care of new coach Nicky Hayen. In the league, after finishing the regular season in fourth place, they are first on equal points with Anderlecht in the Championship Round. And in their last seven matches between cup and league they have collected only victories. The Viola will face a team that, unlike Plzen, does not give up attacking. Not least because they have interesting and quality players such as Norwegian teenager Nusa, Brazilian striker Thiago or Spanish winger Jutglà (ex-Barcelona), the absolute star in the Thessaloniki match (2 goals). Club Brugge, however, is also doing well in defense, collecting four clean sheets in the last seven matches.
Fiorentina, excluding the defeat in Bergamo in the Coppa Italia, returned to win two matches in a row in Serie A, comfortably beating first Salernitana (0-2) and then Sassuolo (5-1), moving closer to seventh place. Italiano rotated several players on Sunday and against the Belgians we will see Belotti, Beltran, Dodò, Biraghi, Terracciano, Nico Gonzalez and Bonaventura on the field from 1′.
The Prediction
Italiano said he expects a great performance from his team, which will try to build up a significant lead ahead of the return leg, where the pitfalls will not be few at all. The Viola should be able to win the first round but it is very likely that Club Brugge, taking advantage of the restarts and the fact that the Gigliati always defend very high, will score at least one goal at the “Franchi. “
The probable formations of Fiorentina-Club Brugge
FIORENTINA (4-2-3-1): Terracciano; Dodò, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Mandragora; Nico Gonzalez, Beltran, Sottil; Belotti.
CLUB BRUGGE (4-3-3): Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Meijer; Onyedika, Vetlesen, Vanaken; Skoras, Igor Thiago, Jutglà.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1