2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League Final Preview

Fiorentina meet West Ham at Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic in the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League Final.

Victory would see Fiorentina claim their first European title in 62 years, having last triumphed in Europe in 1961 in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

West Ham meanwhile are going for a first UEFA title in 24 years since winning 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, although they are also chasing a first regular-season European title since they won 1964-65 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

 

Team News

Fiorentina have no fresh injury concerns to report following their Serie A win over Sassuolo last weekend, with goalkeeper – Salvatore Sirigu remains absent with a tendon injury.

West Ham have no fresh injury concerns to report with Nayef Aguerd, Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen amongst those set to start, alongside Declan Rice who is likely to be playing his last-ever game in a Hammers shirt following rumours of a move this summer to Arsenal.

Gianluca Scamacca remains absent as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

 

Route to the Final

Fiorentina

Round	Opposition	Venue	Result
Play-Off	Twente	H	2-1
Play-Off	Twente	A	0-0
Group B	RFS	H	1-1
Group B	Istanbul Basaksehir	A	3-0
Group B	Hearts	A	0-3
Group B	Hearts	H	5-1
Group B	Istanbul Basaksehir	H	2-1
Group B	RFS	A	0-3
KPO*	Braga	A	0-4
KPO*	Braga	H	3-2
Round of 16	Sivasspor	H	1-0
Round of 16	Sivasspor	A	1-4
Quarter-Final	Lech Poznan	A	1-4
Quarter-Final	Lech Poznan	H	2-3
Semi-Final	Basel	H	1-2
Semi-Final	Basel	A	1-3

First leg goals from Nicolas Gonzalez and Arthur Cabral saw Fiorentina beat Twente 2-1 on aggregate in the Play-Off to secure their spot in the Group Stage, where they went on to finish second behind Istanbul Basaksehir on head-to-head goal difference after they finished on 13 points apiece.

Fiorentina consequently found themselves in the knockout play-offs, where they thrashed Braga 7-2 on aggregate to secure their spot in the Last 16, with Luka Jovic and Cabral both scoring twice in a 4-0 first leg win away from home before they prevailed 3-2 in the second leg.

Vincenzo Italiano’s Violets then hammered Sivasspor 5-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16 before defeating Lech Poznan 6-4 on aggregate in the Quarter-Finals, in which Kristoffer Velde scored in both legs for the Polish opposition.

Comeback goals from Andy Diouf and Mohamed Amdouni saw Fiorentina suffere a 2-1 semi-final first leg defeat at home to Basel, yet preveiled 4-3 on aggregate after winning the second leg 3-1 courtesy of a dramatic 130th minute winner from Antonin Barak in extra-time.

 

West Ham

Round	Opposition	Venue	Result
Play-Off	Viborg	H	3-1
Play-Off	Viborg	A	0-3
Group B	FCSB	H	3-1
Group B	Silkeborg	A	2-3
Group B	Anderlecht	A	0-1
Group B	Anderlecht	H	2-1
Group B	Silkeborg	H	1-0
Group B	FCSB	A	0-3
R16	AEK Larnaca	A	0-2
R16	AEK Larnaca	H	4-0
Quarter-Final	Gent	A	1-1
Quarter-Final	Gent	H	4-1
Semi-Final	AZ Alkmaar	H	2-1
Semi-Final	AZ Alkmaar	A	0-1

Having entered this season’s Europa Conference League in the Play-Off Round, West Ham comfortably cruised past Viborg 6-1 on aggregate as summer signing – Scamacca scored in both legs.

David Moyes’ Hammers then proceeded to comfortably win all six of their Group B matches to top their group and secure a bye to the Round of 16, despite having had to come from behind to beat FCSB and Silkeborg in their first two group matches.

Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen both scored twice as West Ham hammered AEK Larnaca 6-0 in the Round of 16, with Scamacca and Divin Mubama also on the scoresheet across both legs as their goals came in a 4-0 second leg win at home.

West Ham endured a tough Quarter-Final test as Danny Ings’ opening goal was cancelled out by Hugo Cuypers in a 1-1 draw away to Gent, before staging a 4-1 comeback at home to advance 5-2 on aggregate after Cuypers had put the Belgian team ahead in the second leg in East London.

Moyes’ Hammers secured a 2-1 advantage in the first leg of their semi-final against AZ Alkmaar, courtesy of Said Benrahma’s penalty and Michail Antonio’s 76th minute close-range winner before Pablo Fornals’ second leg winner secured a 3-1 aggregate victory.

 

When is Kick-Off?

Fiorentina meet West Ham at Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic, on Wednesday 7 June in a 9pm CEST kick-off (8pm UK Time) with BT Sport 1 broadcasting the match live in the UK.

 

Stat Attack

• Fiorentina are meeting West Ham for the very first time in all UEFA competitions, although Fiorentina beat West Ham 1-0 in both legs of their meeting in 1975 Angelo-Italian League Cup.
• West Ham have lost each of their two previous meeting against Italian opposition in all UEFA competitions, having lost 1-0 and 3-0 against Palermo in First Round of 2006-07 UEFA Cup.
• Fiorentina are unbeaten in five of six meetings against London based teams in all UEFA based competitions (W2, D3, L1), albeit over two legs rather than one match at a neutral venue.
• No player in this season’s Europa Conference League has seen more shots blocked than West Ham’s Said Benrahma, who saw 11 of his 28 shots blocked in 10 appearances.
• Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi and Christian Kouame are joint highest playmakers in this season’s edition of the competition, with five assists apiece in 12 and 10 matches respectively.

 

Prediction

Although Fiorentina are a dirty attack-minded team with a strong goalscoring record and should start as favourites, their defence on the other hand is incredibly leaky with just three clean sheets in their last 16 matches across all competitions.

West Ham meanwhile this season seem to have had their mind mentally geared on winning this trophy given how impressive their performances have been, compared to their domestic displays although they were simply undone last time out at Leicester by poor marking of two clinical goals.

David Moyes’ Hammers however deserve credit for how well they played on the attack despite lacking the composed end product aside from Pablo Fornals’ goal, but I do expect them to come out and play their usual physical attacking style of play.

Both teams though know that the quality bar is low after a drab Europa League Final between winners – Sevilla and Roma last week, so I do hope that both teams can come out and deliver a more entertaining contest.

West Ham though should end their Italian hoodoo if they can play with the same motivation and energy which has got them this far, whilst aggressively targeting Fiorentina’s vulnerable defence which is surely there for the taking.

Prediction: Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham

Result: Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham