Conference League, Fiorentina takes big risk: in Florence, they must beat Rapid Vienna by two goals: news and predictions.
Last call for Europe. The outcome of the play-offs will determine the cadre of qualifiers for the next Conference League. There is a resounding risk that Fiorentina, last season’s finalist who took over from Juventus following the disqualification of the Bianconeri by Uefa, will not be part of this group.
The Viola, surprisingly, failed to pierce Rapid Vienna’s defense in the first leg: after conceding a penalty goal, Vincenzo Italiano’s team fired wide, aided by the Austrians’ obstructionism. And now it must win by at least two goals to avoid saying goodbye to Europe before it even starts. It’s a mission within reach, but at the “Franchi” the Gigliati will not have to make the same mistakes, but above all not allow Rapid to sting on the counterattack. The comeback is possible, but it cannot be ruled out that as in the first leg the green-and-whites score at least one goal, taking advantage of a purple rearguard that appeared shaky even in the league with Lecce (2-0 to 2-2). Also facing the specter of elimination is one of last year’s semifinalists, Az Alkmaar, which was forced to go for a win in Norway against Brann after the 1-1 first leg.
The predictions on the other matches
Heavy on Paok’s win in Scotland a week ago: Hearts, beaten 2-1 at home, are definitely less scary away from home. Qualification, on the other hand, is a formality for Maccabi Tel Aviv after the bombastic 4-1 with which they settled Slovenians Celje. A tough trip, on the other hand, for Lille, called upon to defend their 2-1 win in Croatia at Rijeka.
Fenerbahçe players
Among the biggies “postponed” after the first leg match is also Eintracht Frankfurt, stopped in Bulgaria by Levski Sofia: the Germans are likely to settle things in front of their home crowd. The challenge between Legia Warsaw and Midtjylland, on the other hand, looms a balanced one: seven days they put on a show by drawing 3-3: Poles slightly favored, but the feeling is that anything can happen. There should be no shortage of goals in Besiktas-Dinamo Kiev either: in the first round the Turks came out on top 3-2, a valuable advantage ahead of the return leg in Istanbul. Qualification is now in the bag for Aston Villa and Fenerbahçe, who were overwhelming – they scored five goals apiece – against Hibernian and Twente. All in the balance, finally, between Club Brugge and Osasuna: in Spain, the Belgians prevailed 2-1.
Conference League: likely winners
- AZ Alkmaar or draw (in Brann-AZ Alkmaar, 7 p.m.)
- PAOK (in PAOK-Hearts, 7:30 p.m.)
- Fiorentina (in Fiorentina-Rapid Vienna, 8:00 p.m.)
- Maccabi Tel Aviv (in Celje-Maccabi Tel Aviv, 8 p.m.)
- Lille (in Rijeka-Lille, 8:15 p.m.)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (in Eintracht Frankfurt-Levski Sofia, 20:30)
- Legia Warsaw or draw (in Legia Warsaw-Midtjylland, 9 p.m.)
The matches of at least one goal per team
- HJK Helsinki-Farul Constanta, 6 p.m.
- Adana Demirspor-Genk, 8:00 p.m.
- Besiktas-Dinamo Kiev, 8:00 p.m.
- Club Brugge-Osasuna, 8:30 p.m.
Conference League, matches with at least three total goals
- Bodo/Glimt-Sepsi OSK, 6:00 p.m.
- Twente-Fenerbahçe, 7:00 p.m.
- Viktoria Plzen-Tobol, 7:00 p.m.
- BATE Borisov-Ballkani, 8:00 p.m.
- Aston Villa-Hibernian, 9:00 p.m.