Fiorentina vs Viktoria Plzen Match Analysis and Prediction

Fiorentina vs Viktoria Plzen Match Analysis & Prediction

Fiorentina

18/04/2024 7:45 pm

Viktoria Plzen

by Vincent

2 weeks ago 0 20

DISCLAIMER: All odds are quoted at time the prediction went live. Check the sports book for updated odds

Fiorentina hope to put their recent wobble behind them in Thursday’s Europa Conference League quarter-final second-leg tie with Viktoria Plzen at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

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Best Odds: 1.26

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Vincenzo Italiano’s side have laboured in front of goal recently, putting them in a challenging position of breaking down a Viktoria Plzen side that have outdone every club’s tally of clean sheets in the competition, keeping their 12th shuout in 15 matches in last week’s goalless first leg.

Despite being one of the Europa Conference League top scorers leading up to the first leg, Fiorentina fired blanks last time out for the first time since a 1-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna in the playoff round.

That defeat in August was not fatal as Italiano’s side responded with a 2-0 victory in Florence, and a similar outcome on Thursday seals progress into the tournament’s semi-finals.

However, failure to score more than one goal in a month of football across all competitions – since a 2-2 draw with Roma on March 10 – could be detrimental to the Serie A side.

Six matches have followed since that league draw with the Giallorossi, with one goal scored against Maccabi Haifa (1-1), AC Milan (2-1 loss) and Genoa (1-1) on Monday, while they have fired blanks in defeat to Juventus (1-0) and last Thursday. Fiorentina’s only victory was a Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg 1-0 win over Atalanta on April 3, underscoring recent issues.

Viktoria Plzen seek to end Fiorentina’s dream of making this season’s final, with Miroslav Koubek’s side keen to make the most of their defensive astuteness which bodes well in knockout football.

The Czech side seldom give little way, underscored by the team conceding the first goal just once from the qualifying rounds through the competition proper – in their comeback 2-1 victory over Astana in October – underlining their stinginess.

That much was evident in the reverse match last week, in which the Italian side had 73% possession, but quality goalscoring chances were at a premium. Viktoria limited Fiorentina to 10 shots in 90 minutes, all adding up to expected goals (xG) of 0.38.

Fiorentina vs. Viktoria Plzen Head to head

These two teams have only previously met once in the first leg of this tie, playing out a goalless draw.

11/04/2024

Viktoria Plzen

0

Fiorentina

0

Europa Conference League
18/04/2024

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A
18/04/2024

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A
18/04/2024

N/A

N/A

N/A

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N/A
18/04/2024

Fiorentina

N/A

Viktoria Plzen

N/A

Europa Conference League

Fiorentina Team News

Dodo replaced Michael Kayode for last week’s tie, and the right-back could be reinstated for the reverse fixture, having sat out Monday’s draw with Genoa.

Despite his side’s dominance, Lucas Martinez Quarta’s near-perfect defensive display and adventurous passing means the centre-back starts on Thursday along with Nikola Milenkovic.

Fiorentina's Last 5 Matches

30/03/2024

Fiorentina

1

AC Milan

2

Serie A
03/04/2024

Fiorentina

1

Atalanta

0

Coppa Italia
07/04/2024

Juventus

1

Fiorentina

0

Serie A
11/04/2024

Viktoria Plzen

0

Fiorentina

0

Europa Conference League
15/04/2024

Fiorentina

1

Genoa

1

Serie A

Viktoria Plzen Team News

Pavel Sulc scored Viktoria Plzen’s only goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Slavia Prague, and the midfield man should start in Florence.

Koubek is expected to be without Jan Sykora, Matej Valenta and Rafiu Durosinmi due to knee injuries, while Jhon Mosquera (head) and Erik Jirka (groin) are both ruled out.