Fiorentina-Olympiacos Conference League Final: match preview

Fiorentina and Olympiakos will play the final of the European Conference League tonight. The final, where the Italians, at first glance, are the favorites.

However, with the match taking place in Athens at the AEK Arena, the cards are reshuffled and Olympiakos fans are sure to turn up in large numbers at the Athens Bar League to cheer on their team. A small stadium with 32,000 seats, but with fans excited to see their team win their first European Championship.

On the other hand, Fiorentina is having an encouraging season both domestically and internationally. Eighth place in Serie A, which allows them to directly qualify for the next round of the Conference League. Led by Vincenzo Italiano, who continues to rise to prominence in Tuscany and is being courted by Italian clubs who will play in next season's Champions League, such as Naples or Bologna. This encounter will then be the perfect moment for him to prove he has the chops to lead a European campaign and boost his coaching CV.
For their part, Fiorentina already won the C2 in 1962, but above all, they remain in the Conference League final, lost last season against West Ham. A bitter taste in the throats of the Florentines, who are eager to correct this mistake this evening.

A task for Viola

It's also a challenge for Viola to make his nuggets shine tonight to give them market value. Players like Nicolas Gonzalez or Nikola Milenkovic who are having good seasons will have to put themselves in the spotlight to hope for a good transfer this summer and Fio to get good checks. Read how professional football creates 25,000 jobs in this article - https://www.nouvelobs.com/sport/20101026.OBS1885/le-football-professionnel-genere-25-000-emplois.html.

Authors of an average second season in the league (3rd behind PAOK and AEK), Olympiakos' mission is to qualify for the Europa League through this Conference League trophy, given this new disappointing result on the domestic stage, which does not guarantee them a place in the C3 .

What is the Greek team doing?

To achieve this, the Greek side have several veterans in their squad who are looking for a first European title of their career, such as Stevan Jovetic, who is often substituted but has 8 goals and 4 assists this season in 23% of the minutes played. We also find Ayub El-Kaabi, 30, in brilliant recent form. Currently the top scorer in the competition (10 goals), he remains on 4 goals in the doubleheader against Aston Villa (6-2 on aggregate) and is the team's technical leader. He is also the second top scorer in the Greek Super League with 18 goals.

Conversely, Fio don't seem to have found their true centre-forward as Belotti and Nzola have been up front 3 times each in their last 6 matches. both on 2 and 7 TCC goals respectively, they are not unanimous and this could be a weak point of the Florentine team.

Defensively, Olympiakos concedes 1.1 more goals than Fiorentina per 90 minutes, giving the Viola a slight advantage.

Conclusion

The forces then seem fairly balanced, perhaps with a structural advantage for Fio, a collectively more formed team. Then this final will be a tempting appetizer before Saturday's LDC final, which promises spectacle and atmosphere. Who will be the first to change West Ham? The answer is tonight at 9:00 p.m.
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