Belgian side Club Brugge travel to Italy to take on Fiorentina in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final, with both teams hoping to take a big step towards the final.
Date: 02/05/24
Kick-off time: 20:00
Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi
The hosts are looking to make the final of this competition for the second consecutive year, and will want to avenge the heartbreaking defeat that West Ham inflicted on them in 2023. Club Brugge are aiming to secure a place in a European final for the time since the 70’s but face a tricky test to get there. The visitors are in excellent form, winning seven straight games in all competitions, and will be confident in causing trouble to a Fiorentina side who have been inconsistent as of late.
To get to this stage, the Italians topped their group with three wins and three draws, before eliminating Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen in the knockout stages. Brugge also finished top, but with five wins and a draw. They had to go through Molde and PAOK to set up this semi-final tie.
Both teams are potent in front of goal, with Fiorentina scoring 21 throughout the campaign and Brugge netting 20. However, the Belgians have conceded just five, an impressive tally in 10 games. This includes three clean sheets in a row, so the hosts will have to be at the top of their game to enter the second leg at an advantage. Nicolas Gonzalez will be the main threat, as he is their top scorer with 11 goals. At the back, they will have to contain several different options, with Hans Vanaken, Thiago and Andreas Skov Olsen all scoring four times in the competition so far.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides, though Fiorentina have played against Belgian opposition six times. They have won just once in these games, so will be desperate for this record to improve against Brugge. Similarly, their opponents have struggled against Italian teams, albeit with a larger sample size. In 20 games, they have only won six times.
Serie A 
Belgian First Division A - Championship Round 
