On Thursday night, Fiorentina hosts Sporting Braga in the second leg of the last 32 of the UEFA Europa Conference League. The Viola recorded something of a surprise 4-0 win in the first leg and will be confident of progressing in the tie.
The first-leg win in Portugal was Viola’s only victory in four games in all competitions. The team from Florence followed the win up by recording a 1-1 home draw against Empoli at the weekend.
The result means that six of Fiorentina’s last nine matches have now produced under 2.5 goals.
Despite their slightly inconsistent recent general form, Fiorentina has an excellent recent record in the UEFA Europa Conference League, as the first-leg victory means that Vincenzo Italiano’s team has now recorded five straight victories in the competition, having scored at least twice in all of the victories.
The stellar run of away form in the UEFA Europa Conference League includes recording three consecutive away wins in the competition.
The first-leg defeat will have come as something of a surprise as Sporting Braga is enjoying another promising campaign all around. In fact, Braga has won eight of their last 11 games in all competitions after a 2-0 home win over Arouca last time out.
The visitor's recent games have been high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in five of their previous seven games in all competitions.
The first leg was Sporting Braga’s first-ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League Conference, as they dropped down from the Europa League.
The first-leg defeat continued a poor recent European record for the Portuguese team, as they have now recorded just one win in their last five matches in all continental competitions.
Forebet predicts that Fiorentina will cruise into the last 16 of the competition by recording a win in a high-scoring encounter.