Fiorentina vs Viktoria Plzen

Stadio Artemio Franchi forms the backdrop for the return leg of an evenly-poised Europa Conference League quarter-final tie between Fiorentina and Viktoria Plzen.

After a tepid 0-0 draw in the Czech Republic, Fiorentina extended their dreadful run to just one win in seven competitive matches with a 1-1 home league stalemate against Serie A newcomers Genoa at the weekend (W1, D4, L2). Vincenzo Italiano’s men haven’t fared well across their last nine home outings in all competitions (W3, D4, L2). But scoring in seven straight games in Tuscany in the build-up to this contest will inspire confidence among the home faithful. Further inspiration comes from Fiorentina’s superb run of ten consecutive unbeaten home matches in the Europa Conference League (W5, D5), even though they’ve only managed one clean sheet in four such fixtures this season (W2, D2).

Meanwhile, Viktoria Plzen fought valiantly to avoid defeat in the reverse fixture before a narrow 1-0 home win against fierce domestic rivals Slavia Prague at the weekend stretched their stellar defensive run to four matches without conceding (W2, D2). Topically, they’ve registered an eye-catching seven successive shutouts in the Europa League, where they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games (D2), including all six wins in the group stages, accompanied by a single goal conceded. Another clean sheet would go a long way to helping the visitors reach the semi-finals of a major European competition for the first time in the club’s history.