Fiorentina vs Club Brugge: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
Fiorentina host Club Brugge in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie on Thursday evening.
The winner of the tie will face either Aston Villa or Olympiakos in the final in Athens. Kick-off is set for 8pm UK time.
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Fiorentina
The hosts overcame Viktoria Plzeň with a 2-0 aggregate win at the quarter-final stage to setup a tie with Brugge. Though finishing in a European spot in Serie A isn't out of the question, Fiorentina's most likely route perhaps lies in lifting the Conference League next month.
Respectable home form in the league compares with a superb record in European competition this term, with Vincenzo Italiano's side still yet to taste defeat at home in the Conference League. They've only lost one match in the competition in total - a 1-0 loss at Rapid Wienne in the play-offs back in August.
15 goals scored at the Artemio Franchi Stadium leaves them with an impressive average of 2.5 per game. Fiorentina have found the net in all six of their home fixtures in Europe (W4, D2), and have scored two or more in five of them.
Italiano's men have also excelled in defensive quarters, conceding just four home goals at an average of 0.67 per match so far. Three of their home fixtures have ended in a clean sheet.
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Brugge
The Belgian side secured a spot in the semi-finals with a 3-0 aggregate win over Greece's PAOK in the previous round. Brugge have also performed admirably so far in the competition, suffering just two defeats in 16 contests, 12 of which have ended in victory. They are also on a run of seven consecutive victories in all competitions following a 3-0 win at Genk on Sunday in the Belgian Pro League.
Goals also haven't been a problem; Brugge have averaged 2.44 in total, though this figure drops slightly to 2.38 in away fixtures. They've scored at least once in all but one of their away matches, and have scored three or more in three.
Ronny Deila's men also boast an impressive record at the back. With just 0.75 goals conceded on the road, Brugge have already registered three clean sheets in European away fixtures.
They have not yet faced any side of Fiorentina's quality, however.
Prediction
The Italians have succeeded at both ends of the pitch and, combined with their home advantage, should have too much quality for this Brugge side on Thursday.