29.05.2024, 20:00

Prediction: 0-1

All eyes will be on the AEK Arena in Athens, Greece, as Olympiacos take on Fiorentina in this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League final. Given their home in Piraeus is located only roughly 9km away from Athens, this will feel like a home game for Olympiacos, which should alleviate the nerves of entering their inaugural continental final.

Olympiacos has faced six defeats in their last seven encounters against Italian teams, which doesn’t make for encouraging reading. However, José Luis Mendilibar’s side heads into this pivotal match in good form, having suffered defeat in just two of their last 12 competitive matches. Mendilibar, who took charge in February, previously guided Sevilla to Europa League success last season, instilling confidence in the fans that they have a manager who knows how to succeed in European competitions.

While Mendilibar will have fond memories from 12 months ago, it was a contrasting story for those associated with Fiorentina as La Viola finished runners-up after agonizingly losing the final of this competition to West Ham. For Fiorentina, winning this final would not only erase the agony of their loss in last year’s final but also end a 63-year wait for major European silverware for Tuscany’s premier club.

Just one of the past seven competitive outings for Vincenzo Italiano’s men ended in a loss, and perhaps having benefited from the experience of reaching last year’s final, the Serie A side enters this contest unbeaten in 13 European matches – the longest such run in their history – and as favorites to lift the trophy. They are without a win in their last three matches against a Greek opponent, albeit those three games were all against the same opponent (PAOK).

Form Guide

Olympiacos WWWLWD

Olympiacos will enter this game following a 2-2 draw in the Super League against Panathinaikos.

In that match, Olympiacos had 47% possession and took 14 shots at goal, with 4 of them on target. On the other hand, Panathinaikos had 13 shots at goal, with 5 of them on target.

Olympiacos’ recent matches have been high-scoring affairs, with a total of 21 goals being scored in their last six games. On average, there have been 3.5 goals per game, with Olympiacos contributing 14 of those goals.

Fiorentina WLDWDW

Fiorentina will enter the clash after securing a 2-3 victory over Cagliari in their most recent Serie A match.

In that game, Fiorentina enjoyed 63% possession and registered 11 shots at goal, with 5 of them on target. On the other side, Cagliari had 14 attempts at goal, with 6 of them on target.

Fiorentina’s recent matches have been characterized by high-scoring affairs, with a total of 22 goals being scored in their last six games. On average, there have been 3.67 goals per match, with Fiorentina contributing 12 goals to this total. While their opponents have managed to score 10 goals during this period, it remains to be seen if this trend will continue in the upcoming match.

Injured and suspended

Olympiacos: (Giulian Biancone, Bandiougou Fadiga)

Fiorentina: (Riccardo Sottil, Gaetano Castrovilli)

Olympiacos vs Fiorentina Predicted XI

Olympiacos Predicted XI: Konstantinos Tzolakis, Rodinei, Panagiotis Retsos, David Carmo, Omar Richards, Vicente Iborra, Santiago Hezze, K. Fortounis, Ayoub El Kaabi, Chiquinho, and Daniel Podence.

Fiorentina Predicted XI: Pietro Terracciano, Nikola Milenkovic, L. Martinez Quarta, Dodo, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lucas Beltran, Cristiano Biraghi, Giacomo Bonaventura, Rolando Mandragora, Christian Kouame and Andrea Belotti.

Prediction

We anticipate that Olympiacos may struggle to find the back of the net against this Fiorentina lineup, while we believe Fiorentina will manage to score and secure a victory.

Therefore, our prediction is for a tightly contested match, with Fiorentina emerging as 0-1 winners at the end of the 90 minutes