Fiorentina vs Club Brugge: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Belgian side Club Brugge travel to Italy to take on Fiorentina in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final, with both teams hoping to take a big step towards the final.

Date: 02/05/24

Kick-off time: 20:00

Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi

The hosts are looking to make the final of this competition for the second consecutive year, and will want to avenge the heartbreaking defeat that West Ham inflicted on them in 2023. Club Brugge are aiming to secure a place in a European final for the time since the 70’s but face a tricky test to get there. The visitors are in excellent form, winning seven straight games in all competitions, and will be confident in causing trouble to a Fiorentina side who have been inconsistent as of late.

To get to this stage, the Italians topped their group with three wins and three draws, before eliminating Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen in the knockout stages. Brugge also finished top, but with five wins and a draw. They had to go through Molde and PAOK to set up this semi-final tie.

Both teams are potent in front of goal, with Fiorentina scoring 21 throughout the campaign and Brugge netting 20. However, the Belgians have conceded just five, an impressive tally in 10 games. This includes three clean sheets in a row, so the hosts will have to be at the top of their game to enter the second leg at an advantage. Nicolas Gonzalez will be the main threat, as he is their top scorer with 11 goals. At the back, they will have to contain several different options, with Hans Vanaken, Thiago and Andreas Skov Olsen all scoring four times in the competition so far.

This will be the first meeting between these two sides, though Fiorentina have played against Belgian opposition six times. They have won just once in these games, so will be desperate for this record to improve against Brugge. Similarly, their opponents have struggled against Italian teams, albeit with a larger sample size. In 20 games, they have only won six times.

Fiorentina Team News

Andrea Belotti is a doubt as he deals with a muscle injury, whilst Giacomo Bonaventura will be out with an ankle issue.

Club Brugge Team News

Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s involvement is in doubt as he has a hamstring injury. Andreas Skov Olsen could also potentially miss out.

Fiorentina Form Guide

In their last five games, Fiorentina have won three, drawn one and lost one. It has been a good stretch for the side as they competed across three different competitions. Their most recent game was a home fixture against Sassuolo in Serie A. They were convincing winners, demolishing their opponents 5-1. Riccardo Sottil, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Nicolas Gonzalez (x2) and Antonin Barak were all on the scoresheet.

This followed a 4-1 defeat to Atalanta in the Coppa Italia semi-final. They had won the first leg 1-0, but could not get the job done in the second. Teun Koopmeiners levelled the tie on aggregate after eight minutes, but Fiorentina took control with an equaliser with just over 20 minutes remaining. Atalanta regained that control with three unanswered strikes from Scamacca, Ademola Lookman and Mario Pasalic. Another one of their victories came away at bottom side Salernitana, winning 2-0. They were much the better side throughout, rewarded with two goals for their efforts. However, those strikes did not come until late, with Christian Kouame breaking the deadlock in the 80th minute. Jonathan Ikone added a second deep into stoppage time.

Focus turned to European action as they faced Viktoria Plzen in the Europa Conference League quarter-final. The first leg ended 0-0, with it all to play for in the second. The Italians came out on top with a 2-0 win. The game ended 0-0 once more after 90 minutes, despite the visitors playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men. Whilst Fiorentina could not take advantage in normal time, they eventually wore their opponents down with Nicolas Gonzales and Cristiano Biraghi netting in extra-time. The first game in this stretch was a 1-1 draw at home to Genoa. The hosts dominated with 20 attempts, but could only convert one opportunity, with Ikone’s strike cancelling out Albert Gudmundsson’s first-half penalty.

Club Brugge Form Guide

In their last five games, Club Brugge have won four/ all of them. It has been a perfect run for Brugge, as they fight in Europe and for the Belgian Pro League. The first game of this stretch was a comfortable 3-0 win over Antwerp. Their opponents edged possession, but they attempted more shots, converting three of them. Raphael Onyedika, Michal Skoras and Philip Zinckernagel were all on the scoresheet.

Attention shifted to European action as they took on Greek side PAOK in the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League. Having won the first leg 1-0, they advanced with a 2-0 victory in the second. They conceded just one shot on target as Ferran Jutgia bagged a brace to secure the win. They returned to league action with a narrow 2-1 win at Union Saint-Gilloise. They took the lead shortly after the restart through Hugo Vetlesen. The scorer then got sent off, but Brugge were able to double their lead with a goal from Bjorn Meijer. Cameron Puertas pulled one back for the hosts to threaten a comeback, but that was as good as it got with the visitors taking home three points. Genk were the visitors in the next game, as Brugge won 4-0. The goals came from Jutgia, Skoras, Igor Thiago and Maxim De Cuyper.

They faced the same opponents in their most recent game away from home, as they beat Genk again, this time 3-0. Kyriani Sabbe, Veltesen and Thiago were the scorers in the comfortable win.

Home advantage will be key in this game as we expect Fiorentina to edge a first-leg win. Both teams should score, but the Italians will travel to Belgium with a slender lead – Fiorentina 2-1 Club Brugge

Fiorentina vs Club Brugge will be available to watch on the Peacock Network (An NBC live-streaming Platform)