Plzen vs Fiorentina prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-04-10 16:45.
[p]Appearing in a UEFA quarter-final for the first time ever, Viktoria PlzeÅ are daring to dream of breaking even more new ground in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL). Last seasonās finalists Fiorentina stand in their way, and PlzeÅ will hope a similar resolute defensive display to the one they showed in the quarter-finals – when they advanced on penalties against Servette after two 0-0 draws – will stand them in good stead here.Ā [/p]
[p]Itās now six successive clean sheets in the UECL and 13 games unbeaten in this competition for the Czech side, as they had won 11-straight games prior to those two stalemates. Getting back to winning ways against Italian opposition likely wonāt be straightforward though, as PlzeÅ hold a negative all-time record against Serie A sides (W3, D2, L5), but given they havenāt conceded a UECL home goal since August 2021, they have a solid foundation they can build upon.Ā [/p]
[p]In Fiorentina, they face the competitionās joint-second most prolific goalscoring side in the main tournament, which will certainly put their defensive mettle to the test. La Viola netted four in the away leg of their last 16 tie as they despatched Maccabi Haifa, and having never lost in UEFA competition against Czech opposition (W5, D2), they ought to be confident of securing a positive result to take back to Florence.[/p]
[p]Travelling well is something Fiorentina have become accustomed to in the UECL, winning eight of their 13 away games in the competition (D3, L2). Incredibly, six of those eight victories saw them net at least three goals within 90 minutes, yet with just one of their last eight UECL road trips seeing them keep a clean sheet, goals are never far away where Fiorentina are concerned.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Keen for an early say on proceedings, PlzeÅās TomĆ”Å” ChorĆ½ has opened the scoring with three of his four UECL goals this term. Itās a return to his native country for Czech international AntonĆn BarĆ”k who has seen all four of his UECL knockout goals for Fiorentina serve as the first or last of the game.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: 16 of PlzeÅās last 18 goals in the UECL have arrived after half-time.Ā [/p]