Fiorentina emerge from the pleasant haze of the season's best win for an entirely different challenge. Yep, it's time for the first leg of the Conference League semifinal against Club Brugge. This will be the first meeting between these sides, although the Viola have taken on Belgian opposition in the past; strangely enough, the only win against a Belgian side Fiorentina's ever experienced was the 2-1 win over Genk in the group stages in November.

The referee for this one is 39-year-old Michael Oliver of England. In 31 appearances this season, he's handed out 131 yellow cards, 6 red cards, and 7 penalties. Calcio heads may recall him from the 2018 Champions League semifinal in which he sent off Gianluigi Buffon for verbal abuse. He's handled 12 matches for Italian teams, in which they've gone W6 D4 L2. Weirdly enough, he's reffed Fiorentina previously: remember when Fiorentina lost its Europa League opener to Basel by a score of 1-2? Red card, concussion, obvious penalties denied? Yep, that was Michael Oliver.

The match will be played on Thursday, 2 May 2024, at 7:00 PM GMT/3:00 PM EST, at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in beautiful Firenze. The forecast calls for a miserable day, cold and rainy, so expect a slick pitch and a lot of raincoats. Club Brugge is expecting about 2000 fans, but they'll likekly be pretty cranky, as the official travel package costs EUR700 without even offering accommodations. Only a couple hundred of the 1700-ticket allotment have sold, so it'll be mostly folks making their own way to Florence.

Fiorentina Fiorentina continues its quest to give us severe emotional whiplash. The crushing defeat in the Coppa Italia to Atalanta was perhaps the season's lowest point and directly preceded one its highlights. There's just no telling which way this club will jump in any given moment. However, with the Coppa run finished and European qualification through Serie A looking possible but unlikely, it seems that this team is putting all of its eggs in the Conference League basket in an effort to finish this era with a trophy.

Brugge's conceded just 4 goals in the Conference League so far, but they've been far more proactive than Viktoria Plzen. They'll likely rein it in a bit but should still look to press, as they like having the ball and dictating games. That approach could put the Viola rearguard squarely in the spotlight, as the deep buildup play hasn't looked nearly as sharp without Arthur around, so the defense is probably the key to the attack. If Fiorentina can get the ball up the pitch and under control, there should be some space to attack. Italiano's wanted his side to hit a lot of long passes recently, so expect a lot of aerial duels rather than quick passing.

Club Brugge Club Brugge's hit form at the exact right moment. After a tumultuous start to the season that saw manager Ronny Deila leave in March, the Blauw-Zwart have taken flight, rattling off 7 straight wins in all competitions by a score of 18-2. That's propelled them to joint top of the Jupiler League's championship round (the Belgian setup is crazy) and, having taken some impressive results en route to the Conference League semis (0-5 at Besiktas!), there's obviously a lot of confidence in West Flanders.

As good as the Blauw-Zwart defense has been, the attack's been even better. This team likes to keep the ball moving quickly, hoping to find third-man runs in behind. Skov Olsen and Vanaken are both very creative passers and there's a host of quick, tricky wide options too. Brugge's high pressure is designed to get the attackers in good spots, as the forwards aren't speedsters, but they're fast enough to capitalize on a short pitch after a turnover. If all the intricate stuff doesn't work, Igor Thiago's a fantastic battering ram, too. His physicality (leads the Conference League in fouls) can unsettle defenders and wreak havoc.

Possible lineups Mandragora or Duncan, Bonaventura or Arthur, Belotti or Sottil; Sabbe or Odoi, Skov Olsen or Nusa Made using Share My Tactics How to watch TV: Don't count on it but check the international television listings to be sure.

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Ted's Memorial Blind Guess Department Fiorentina is a surprisingly heavy favorite with the bookmakers, which I find surprising: the team has limped through the Conference League thus far and looked generally unimpressive all year, while Club Brugge is the tournament's highest scorer and in the midst of an impressive winning streak. I assume that the odds are factoring in the relative strength of Serie A compared to the Jupiler League, but the Belgians are a quality outfit. I'm expecting a close game.

Fiorentina's been good at limiting opponent chances recently and has been defensively sturdy in the Conference League, though, so I'm going to give the hosts a slight edge in a hotly-contested 2-1 win, with Nico Gonzalez and Lucas Martinez Quarta (the third leading scorer) striking for the Viola while Igor Thiago pulls one back for the Blauw-Zwart, setting up a tense away leg.

Forza Viola!