Prediction: Fiorentina to win 2-1
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Fiorentina and Sporting Braga will face each other in the UEFA Europa Conference League Knockout Round Playoff Tie this week. The second leg of the tie between the Serie A club and the Portuguese Primeira Liga outfit will be held at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Thursday.
Fiorentina
Fiorentina are a big and established club in Italy who tend to finish in the European places in the Serie A table. I Viola ended up seventh in the league standings last season, while in 2016-17 and 2017-18, the Florence-based outfit finished eighth. Fiorentina ended up fourth in Serie A for three years in a row between 2013 and 2015.
Vincenzo Italiano’s side finished second in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage Group A with 13 points from six matches, level on points with Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir. They beat Sporting Braga 4-0 away from home in the first leg of the knockout round playoff tie and are virtually guaranteed to progress.
Fiorentina will head into the match against Sporting Braga at Stadio Artemio Franchi on the back of a 1-1 draw with Empoli at home in Serie A. It came after the 4-0 hammering of Braga in Portugal which followed a 1-0 loss at the hands of Juventus at Juventus Stadium in Turin in Serie A. Fiorentina are 14th in the Serie A table at the moment with 25 points from 23 matches, as many as eight points above the bottom three.
Team News:
Fiorentina do not have any injury problems and have a fully fit squad to choose from. Cabral may start in attack.
Sporting Braga
Sporting Braga are a big and established club in Portugal who tend to finish in the European places in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Os Arcebispos finished fourth in the league last season, just like they did in 2020-21, 2018-19 and 2017-18. In 2019-20, Braga ended the league campaign in third position. They also progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League last season.
Braga finished third in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stage Group D with 10 points from six matches, two points behind second-placed Union Berlin and three points behind group winners Union Saint-Gilloise. Artur Jorge’s side suffered a heavy 4-0 loss at the hands of Fiorentina in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League Knockout Round Tie at Estádio Municipal de Braga, and now it looks unlikely that they will progress.
Os Arsenalistas will head into the match against Fiorentina in Florence on the back of a 2-0 win against Arouca at home in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. It came after the 4-0 loss to Fiorentina in front of their own fans and followed a 2-1 victory over Maritimo on the road in the league. Sporting are third in the Portuguese Primeira Liga table at the moment with 49 points from 21 matches, seven points behind leaders Benfica.
Team News:
Sporting Braga will be without Tormena for the second leg of the tie against Fiorentina. The defender was sent off in the first leg last week. Paulo Oliveira is likely to take his place in the starting lineup.
Key Factors to Consider
Fiorentina have won their last 5 UEFA Europa Conference League matches.
Fiorentina have won 2 of their last 6 competitive matches.
Fiorentina have lost 2 of their last 6 competitive games.
Sporting Braga have won 4 of their last 6 competitive games.
Sportin Braga have scored 47 goals in 21 league matches so far this season.
Conclusion
Now, miracles happen in football, but it is really hard to see Sporting Braga overcome a four-goal deficit, especially as the second leg is in Florence. The Portuguese club could score a goal, but it is very likely that Fiorentina will find the back of the net as well and win the match in the end.
Prediction: Fiorentina to win 2-1
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