Fiorentina vs West Ham United. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

ACF Fiorentina will host West Ham United FC in the UEFA Europa Conference League final match at Eden Arena in Prague. The fixture will take place on Thursday, June 8, beginning at 00:30 IST.

What can we expect this Thursday night? Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Fiorentina News & Current Form:

The team received a new coach in 2021 – Vincenzo Italiano. That immediately yielded a result in the form of a climb up the Serie A into the Eurocup zone. It could not be repeated and it became clear ahead of time that seventh place was unattainable this season.

In the second year, the specialist failed to make a qualitative breakthrough in the Italian Serie A. Vincenzo Italiano’s side finished eighth in the domestic league, but, whatever the outcome of the upcoming match, there is a good chance that they can catch the Conference League call once again as 7th-placed Juventus is still in trouble. 

The Old Lady’s low-placed finish, which included the loss of 10 points as a penalty for various transgressions, still entitles them to play in the Conference League. However, the Turin side risk not playing there because UEFA could disqualify the club for one European season for financial abuses. So, even if the Purples lose the final in Prague, they would still see the European сampaign in 23/24. It certainly takes the pressure off the Italian collective a little before the thrilling crucial visit to the Czech Republic.

It is important to remind, that they failed to clinch the Italian Cup. At the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Fiorentina lost to FC Inter Milan (1 – 2). However, Vincenzo Italiano praised the performance of his players.

“I am not ashamed of the way we played against Inter, because we faced a fantastic side that reached the Champions League final. Of course, we are disappointed we did not manage to win the Italian Cup, but we have no time to sit back and be disappointed. We have a Conference League final ahead of us. We are up against some tough competition, but we are determined to take the trophy. That’s our goal for the end of the season.”

The 2022/2023 season is certainly one of the most successful of this century for the club from Florence. The Violas finished eighth in the Italian league, reached the Italian Cup final for the first time since 2014 and also reached the European final for the first time since the 1989/1990 season.

Antonin Barak scored the decisive goal that brought ACF Fiorentina to the Conference League finals

In their last Serie A match, Fiorentina beat US Sassuolo away (3 – 1). Before that, they beat AS Roma (2 – 1), Udinese Calcio (2 – 0), drew (1 – 1) with Torino FC and lost 0 – 1 to eventual champions SSC Napoli.

Fiorentina are good in cup competitions: the Violas reached the Italian Cup final, where they lost to Inter Milan in a hard-fought battle, and managed to make it through to the end of the European competition. By the way, the first-ever League of Conferences draw in 2021 was won by the Italian team.

The Italians started their campaign in the current Conference League on the group stage with a (2 – 1 and 0 – 0) win over the Netherlands’ FC Twente. In quartet A, the Florentines finished second, losing the top spot to Turkey’s Istanbul FK by extra points.

In the knock-out games, they beat Portugal’s Sporting Braga (4 – 0 and 3 – 2), Turkey’s Sivasspor (1 – 0 and 4 – 1), Poland’s Lech Poznań (4 – 1 and 2 – 3) and Switzerland’s FC Basel 1893 (1 – 2, 2 – 1 and 1 – 0 in extra time on foreign soil) in the semi-finals.

True, there was a chance of elimination at the 1/2 final stage. After 1 – 2 at home, the Italians only managed to get past Basel with an away win by the same score and a decisive goal, which was scored by Antonin Barak only in overtime on 120+10 minutes.

The Florentines have no shortage of attacking players and Vincenzo Italiano has been able to make substitutions throughout the season without reducing the quality of play in attack. The players have averaged 15.9 shots per game in Serie A matches, 4.9 of which have been on target – third best in the league. 

The main problem for the Violas is the injuries to Gaetano Castrovilli and Nicolas Gonzalez which they got in the last Serie A game against Sassuolo. The Argentine’s loss could be key for the Italians in the Conference League final. He has scored six goals in the current European competition campaign. Salvatore Sirigu will also be unable to play due to an Achilles injury.

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West Ham United News & Current Form: 

The club was taken over by David Moyes three years ago as a matter of urgency – the experienced Scot was called in to save the club from relegation. But in his first full season, David was already competing for 4th place in the English Premier League. He failed to lift his side into the UEFA Champions League, but twice in a row the Hammers made it to the European competitions. 

This season, they had a clear decline in the domestic arena, and nearly until the final rounds there was a risk of relegation to the Championship, cleared only after the victories in the spring. West Ham deliberately bet on the Conference League this season. And the result is that the club finished in a modest 14th place in the EPL.

They played their last official match a week and a half ago, losing at home to relegated Leicester City FC (1 – 2). It was hardly a major upset for the team, given that United’s thoughts were focused on the battle against Fiorentina. Prior to that, West Ham managed to beat Leeds United FC (3 – 1), Manchester United FC (1 – 0) and lost to Brentford FC (0 – 2).

Top player of West Ham United Declan Rice who will leave the club in the summer

West Ham avoided the 1/16 final stage in this Conference League play-offs. The English started from the 1/8 finals of the European cup, in this stage the London club was able to pass AEK Larnaca (2 – 0  and 4 – 0), and then were stronger than KAA Gent (1 – 1 and 4 – 1). The Hammers reached the final with the only setback when they failed to beat Gent in Belgium in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals, the London club managed to defeat Dutch AZ Alkmaar (2 – 1 and 1 – 0). The return leg against AZ was marked by a major international scandal. After the final whistle, the Dutch club’s ultras tried to attack the sector where relatives of the West Ham players were staying. It came to the point where the players of the London team themselves went to the sector and helped the local stewards fight off the hooligans in defense of their relatives.

David Moyes’ side have won 13 of their 14 matches, with one draw. They responded to a conceded eight goals by scoring 33, not once leaving the field without a result. The Scottish specialist is likely to leave the team at the end of the season and winning the Conference League will help to secure better job offers.

“When you work in an EPL team, you can’t constantly think that you are safe. You get a series of bad matches and you can be sacked. However, I am calm. I know that the West Ham management believes in me and I keep doing everything to improve the team’s results,”

said the London manager.

For West Ham, this final will be the third in the team’s European Cup history. The Hammers won their last European trophy in 1964/1965, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final.

The statistics of the Hammers’ recent games speak in favor of result-oriented football. They have added in the final third recently, creating at least 1.4 xG in the past 4 EPL rounds out of 6, but have made too many unforgivable mistakes. Even AFC Bournemouth (4 – 0) and Crystal Palace FC (3 – 4) have managed to create 1.5 and 2.1 xG respectively.

The London club’s squad is classy. The Hammers are led to the trophy by Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek, Pablo Fornals, Lucas Paqueta, Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio and Declan Rice, for whom this match will be his last for the club. The midfielder will switch clubs in the summer. Rice is now wanted by FC Bayern Munich, Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC. According to insider reports, Rice himself is leaning towards a transfer to Arsenal.

West Ham are without the suspended Aaron Cresswell. Gianluca Scamacca, who has a knee injury, is questionable.

Declan Rice believes the upcoming game is the biggest of his football career:

“Every time I put on the shirt, I know how big it is. This will be the biggest match that the Club has had in so long, so it’s going to be an honor to be part of and hopefully we can create some history on the night for the fans to cheer about.”

“Now it’s final, anything can happen. It’s a game of football and we’ll do everything we can to do the job. I think it would be my biggest achievement I’ve had in football so far. 100 percent. I think that would be for a lot of us. I think to win a trophy like this, a European trophy, with West Ham, I think it puts every player at a higher status within the Club in terms of with the fans, how you’ll be remembered.”

“I think it would just mean everything, to be honest. Just to lift that trophy, especially to be with the lads as well – our group of boys are such good people, and to see them laughing and smiling and singing after the semi-final game.”

“It’s in our hands, so we’re going to push to do that.”

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Fiorentina form guide: W-W-D-L-W-W

West Ham United form guide: W-W-L-W-W-L

Fiorentina vs West Ham United Predicted XI:

Fiorentina possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Terracciano; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Milenkovic, Biraghi; Amrabat, Mandragora; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Ikone; Cabral.

West Ham United possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Areola; Kehrer, Aguerd, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio.

Statistical preview of the match Fiorentina vs West Ham United:

• Fiorentina’s First XI average age is 27.6 years.
• West Ham’s First XI average age is 28.4 years.
• Fiorentina are unbeaten in 5 of their last 7 matches.
• West Ham have won their last 3 games in the Conference League.
• In the last 5 games, Fiorentina conceded an average of 1.20 goals per game and scored 2.00 goals on average per game.
• West Ham are conceding an average of 1.20 goals per game in their last 5 games while scoring an average of 1.40 goals per game.
• The teams last met in 1975. Fiorentina won twice.
• West Ham became the first team to score the maximum number of points in a Conference League group
• Fiorentina is the highest-scoring team in Conference League 2022/23 (36 goals), West Ham have scored nine fewer.

• Top scorers of Fiorentina: Arthur Cabral (15+1), Luka Jovic (12+3), Nicolas Gonzalez (11+2).
• Top scorers of West Ham: Michail Antonio (13+4), Jarrod Bowen (11+7), Said Benrahma (10+4).

What has been said before the match:

Coach of Italian Fiorentina Vincenzo Italiano ahead of the final Conference League game:

“Leaving aside our opponent, the first challenge is that we are playing a final. We must take care of every detail. Every mistake could be fatal in the match. Every move counts and can create a different outcome to the one in our first final in the Italian Cup, which we lost to Inter.”

“We must be wary of everything and step out onto the field with the highest level of focus. Especially since we’re playing against West Ham, who are a strong team with lots of quality and players in excellent physical condition.”

“Even if they haven’t done very well in the Premier League, they are still a very dangerous team. If you’re playing a final like this, you possess some ability. You don’t get to the final just by chance, so we need to be well-prepared because we’re facing a strong team.”

“David Moyes is a coach with great experience. His teams play well. I respect him and his team for what they do. I’ll have the pleasure of meeting him in Prague. May the best team win.”

“Our work began last year. We were on a path to rebuild and change the squad. Our main goal was to qualify for a European competition once again and we nailed it. This season, we delivered. I didn’t think we would come this far in our development at this stage but, of course, we are thrilled about it. We showed we were up to the task, and we haven’t looked out of place in this competition.”

“Personally, I am very glad to be competing in a final and to have the chance to lift a trophy. It has been my dream since I was first appointed Fiorentina coach and understood we had the potential to achieve such great results.”

David Moyes, coach of West Ham, about the opponent and his feelings towards the final:

“I’m not thinking any further ahead than that, we’ve still got a few days before the game so it’s a case of preparing the players and getting them ready. Fiorentina played this weekend in their league and we didn’t, but I don’t think there’s one reason to see one is better than the other.”

“What I do think is that Fiorentina have a big squad and have been able to change their players in many games. It may be a help for us, or it may be a hindrance, we don’t know what the outcome will be, but for all football clubs, whether in Italy or England, the season has been long due to the World Cup and games being pushed in.”

“I’ve been around a long time now and they’re all challenging us. Longevity, being in the game for a long time – coming in for a short period, I’m not saying it is easy, but it’s easier than doing it for a long period. I agree though, there are some very good young managers out there, young coaches.”

“Football has been around for a long time, it won’t change greatly. Italian football has its own DNA, but also the Italian national team won the Euros just over a year ago. Italian football has teams in all the finals this year, it says a lot about the game in Italy. I think they’ve got good players and they always have done.”

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Fiorentina vs West Ham United Prediction:

There is no clear favourite in this vital match-up. It’s really about the same level of teams, who need to win the Conference League to guarantee a place in the Eurocup next season. There’s no doubt that it will be a tense and evenly fought game. But who can be closer to the trophy?

Fiorentina approach the meeting in decent form – the Purples have not fallen apart after losing the Italian Cup final and have claimed successive wins over Roma at home and a resilient Sassuolo away. Thus, the Italians look sharper before the all-or-nothing evening.

West Ham, although they have been cruising easily through the Conference League (not suffering a single defeat in this campaign), have not been resisted by the collective of the same level — AEK Cyprus, Belgian Gent and AZ from Netherlands. Consider how David Moyes’ boys played in the English league against really strong teams (EPL’s top 10) – 13 defeats, four draws and only three wins. 

Although it’s also worth mentioning that West Ham played their last official match at the end of May, while Fiorentina were playing in the Italian championship just a few days ago. The English have had much more time to rest and prepare. Which of course adds to their weight on the scales.

Will there be a lot of goals in this match? For our analysis, we take the meetings of both teams against the top 10 in their respective championships (let’s say that the level of opposition is similar). The average total for the Viola side is 2.28 (0.94+1.33). While West Ham matches see an average of 2.6 goals scored (0.75+1.85).

Though in the tournament itself, the teams score a lot (3.38 and 2.93 are the average total of Fiorentina and West Ham’s matches in the CL). Taking into consideration the trophy at stake, the cost of a mistake is too high. Therefore, the game will not be rich in daring offensive outbursts and goals, which generally is typical for finals, so for this one, we’re looking at a total of less than 2.5.

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Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: the match total will be less than 2.5 – Yes.