The Serie A club secured a thumping 4-0 victory in the first leg in Portugal last week, courtesy of a brace each from Luka Jovic and Arthur Cabral.
Fiorentina will be aiming to seal their qualification to the last-16 of the Europa Conference League when they host Braga for the second leg of the playoff tie on Thursday. The Serie A club secured a thumping 4-0 victory in the first leg in Portugal last week to keep one step firmly in the next round of the tournament. Both Luka Jovic and Arthur Cabral scored a brace each for the Viola at Estadio Municipal de Braga last Thursday, while the Portuguese outfit played more than 35 minutes of the match with 10 men after Vitor Tormena received a red card.
Luka Jovic ⚽️⚽️#ForzaViola #BragaFiorentina #ACFFiorentina #UECL pic.twitter.com/KzsR6VI8Ae
— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) February 22, 2023
It would take a monumental collapse for Vincenzo Italiano’s side not to book their place in the round of 16 of Europe’s third tier competition at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday. Meanwhile, Fiorentina haven’t had a great league season thus far, recording just six wins from 23 outings to be languishing at the 14th spot, with just 25 points to their name. However, the Viola have done pretty well in the cup competitions, as they are set to play the Coppa Italia semi-final against Cremonese in April, and are almost certain to reach the last-16 of the continental competition. Italiano’s side are heading into the match on the back of a 1-1 Serie A draw against Empoli, thanks to Cabral’s 85th-minute equaliser. The result extended their winless run to six games in the Italian top flight.
Braga, on the other hand, have enjoyed an excellent domestic campaign to sit at the third position in the Portuguese Primiera Liga standings, eight points clear of fourth-placed Sporting Lisbon, who have 41 points to their name, and seven adrift of leaders Benfica. However, Arthur Jorge’s side surprisingly collapsed in the first leg of their European playoff tie at home last week. The four-goal defeat almost ended the Archbishops’ chances progressing deep into the European competition. Meanwhile, Braguistas are heading into the match on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win over Arouca in the league on Sunday. Abel Ruiz opened the scoring inside the opening minute before Simon Branza doubled the lead nine minutes from time.
Fiorentina haven’t reported any fresh injury concerns and appear to have a fully-fit squad. Cabral, who has scored three goals in his last two outings, is likely to spearhead the attack, with Ikone and Kouame in support. Amrabat will sit in front of the back four, allowing Bonaventura and Mandragora to play further up the pitch in the midfield. As for Braga, Tormena is suspended for Thursday’s game, therefore Paulo Oliveira might come into the playing eleven, joining Niakate in the heart of the defence.
Fiorentina probable line-up: Terracciano, Dodo, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi, Bonaventura, Amrabat, Mandragora, Ikone, Cabral, Kouame
Braga Probable line-up: Matheus, Gomez, Oliveira, Niakate, Sequeira, Bruma, Racic, Al-Musrati, R Horta, Banza, Ruiz
Fiorentina
Opponents | Score |
Empoli | 1-1 (D) |
Braga | 0-4 (W) |
Juventus | 1-0 (L) |
Bologna | 1-2 (L) |
Torino | 2-1 (W) |
Braga
Opponents | Score |
Arouca | 2-0 (W) |
Fiorentina | 0-4 (L) |
Maritimo | 1-2 (W) |
Benfica | 2-1 (W) |
Famalicao | 4-1 (W) |
Latest match-result | Score |
Fiorentina beat Braga | 0-4 |
The UEFA Europa Conference League match between Fiorentina vs Braga will take place at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
Fiorentina vs Braga | Key Details |
Date | February 23 (Italy) |
Venue | Stadio Artemio Franchi |
Kickoff time in Italy | 9:00 pm (Thursday) |
Kickoff time in Portugal | 8:00 pm (Thursday) |
kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Friday) |
The live telecast of the Europa Conference League Matches in India is available on the Sony Sports network. Fans will also be able to live stream through Sony Liv. Besides, the match between Fiorentina and Braga can also be seen on Sky Sport 255, Sky Go Italia, Sky Sport Football, NOW TV and DAZN in Italy. Meanwhile, thos in Portugal can catch the live action via Sport TV Multiscreen and Sport TV 1.