The “Viola”, who reached the final of the Conference League last season (and lost to “West Ham” there), are making another attempt to win the third most prestigious European cup, and so far things are going well for Vincenzo Italiano’s team. The Florentines easily navigated through a not-so-difficult group with “Genk,” “Ferencv?ros,” and “Chukarichki,” and then broke the resistance of “Maccabi” from Haifa and Czech “Viktoria” in the playoffs. As we can see, “Fiorentina” doesn’t have overly tough opponents on their path, and in the semifinals, they got, perhaps, the easiest opponent of all possible ones. In the Italian championship, things are not going so well for the “Viola.” Despite defeating “Sassuolo” in the last round (5:1), the team is only eighth in the table, and it is not excluded that for Italiano’s proteges, it will be easier and more reliable to qualify for the Europa League through the Conference League than through the final standings of the championship. The “Viola” have few personnel losses. Only forward Nzola will definitely not play, having missed the last two weeks due to injury.
Under the guidance of Nicky Hayen, who took over the team only in March of this year, the players are preparing for a very tense finish to the season. Not only does “Brugge” have a chance to win a European cup tournament for once, but there’s also intense competition for the title in the league with “Anderlecht” and “Union” all vying for the top spot. So, it’s crucial for the Belgian team to allocate their strength carefully and strategically over the course of the season. Like their semifinal opponent, “Brugge” began their journey in the main grid of the Conference League from the group stage of the tournament. After surpassing “Besiktas,” “Bod?/Glimt,” and “Lugano” at this stage, the team from Belgium then eliminated Norwegian side “Molde” and Greek side “PAOK” in the playoffs. “Brugge” approaches the semifinals almost fully armed. Only injured defender Boyata won’t play, while the rest of the players are ready to help the team at any moment in Florence.
