Fiorentina’s road to back-to-back Europa Conference League grand finals continues away to Viktoria Plzen in the quarter-finals. Thursday’s game at the Doosan Arena comes amidst La Viola’s rotten patch, bookended by a 1-0 away loss to Juventus on Sunday.
Vincenzo Italiano’s men have got into the win column only once in their last five matches across all competitions (D2, L2). On top of that, Italiano’s misfiring side only netted more than one goal per game once in that sequence. But despite their form woes, many top betting sites not on GamStop still view Fiorentina as favorites to make it out of this tie.
However, the Italians face a heavily motivated Plzen side in their first-ever European meeting. After two 0-0 draws against Swiss outfit Servette in the previous Conference League round, the Czech Republic giants progressed into their maiden European quarter-finals on penalties.
Despite finding themselves in uncharted territory, they are keen to break more new ground in Europe’s third-tier competition. To achieve that milestone, Plzen must defy their underwhelming continental record against Serie A clubs (W3, D2, L5). Confidence comes from not conceding a single goal in a Conference League home outing since August 2021.
If there’s a side capable of knocking Plzen off their perch, it’s Conference League specialists Fiorentina. They’ve racked up eight victories in their 13 away matches in this competition (D3, L2), notably netting 3+ goals in six, including a breathless 4-3 triumph at Maccabi Haifa in the last knockout round
Team News
Erik Jirka, Rafiu Durosinmi, and Matej Valenta are unavailable for selection in the Plzen squad. Question marks are still hovering over the heads of Jan Sykora and Jhon Mosquera. But the most significant boost for home manager Miroslav Koubek is Thomas Chory’s recovery from a minor fitness problem.
As for Fiorentina, Dodo’s return to the fold after a lengthy spell on the sidelines in a 2-1 league defeat to Milan means Italiano has his entire squad fit and ready for this trip. It’s up to the highly-rated tactician to decide whether to use Lucas Martinez Quarta instead of Luca Ranieri or Nikola Milenkovic.
The Argentine center-back has emerged as a transfer target for Napoli, as per TMW. But he has recently tumbled down the pecking order and could stay on the bench again.
Prediction
Plzen can’t realistically expect to fend off a side averaging an impressive 2.1 goals per match in this season’s Conference League. However, Fiorentina have been prone to dropping points on the road, hence our expectations for a draw.