What Can We Expect in the Europa Conference League Final?
by Steve Ashfield | by Véronique MASUAKU
An Historic Night in Athens
The third ever Europa Conference League fiinal takes place on Wednesday May 29. History will be made as neither Fiorentina from Italy's Serie A or the Greek Super League side Olympiacos have previously won the trophy. This is the last time a game will be played under the competition's present name. From next season it'll be known simply as the UEFA Conference League but who will lift the trophy on Wednesday evening?
Both sides have already qualified for next season’s UEFA Conference League. Olympiakos finished third in the Greek Super League Championship Group. Fiorentina still have one league game to play (against Europa League winners Atalanta) but will finish eighth in Serie A. That makes this game even more important as the winners will be playing in next season’s Europa League.
This should be an exciting final. Four of the last six Olympiacos games in this competition have seen over 2.5 goals scored. The last nine matches played by Fiorentina in all competitions have seen both teams score. That stat has come up on eight occasions in this competition. For all the information, statistics and analysis on this Europa Conference League final, check out our Olympiacos - Fiorentina prediction. Enjoy the final!
Second Time Lucky for Fiorentina?
This is the third Europa Conference League final and the second in a row for Fiorentina. Last season saw them reach the final but were beaten by the Engllish Premier League side West Ham United. Will it be second time lucky for them this time around?
In all European competitions this is the Italian club's fifth final. The only won they've won was the old European Cup Winners Cup way back in the 1960-61 season with a win over Glasgow Rangers. They reached the final of that competition the following year but were beaten by Atletico Madrid.
It's been a long route to the final for Fiorentina. Despite reaching last season's final, they had to play Rapid Vienna in the play-off round. That nearly saw their European season come to an early end after losing the away first leg 1-0. The second leg was won 2-0 thanks to two goals from Nicolas Gonzalez, the second being a 90th minute penalty. He's 3.33 at Vbet to score in Wednesday's final.
They won Group F and did so without losing a match and that took them into the last 16. They trailed twice in the away first leg at Maccabi Haifa but returned home 4-3 winners thanks to a 95th minute winner. The home second leg was drawn 1-1. In the quarter-finals Fiorentina played Viktoria Pizen and both games ended goalless after 90 minutes. The Italians scored twice in extra time on home soil to get through to a semi-final against Club Brugge.
The first leg was another thrilling home game, won 3-2 thanks to a 91st minute goal. They trailed in the second leg but an 85th minute goal saw them draw 1-1, winning 4-3 on aggregate and in another Europa Conference League final. Will they win this time?
This final can be seen on the TNT Sports YouTube page. Don't forget you can follow all the action in this game on our Europa Conference League livescore with live text commentary and updated stats.
A First European Title for Olympiacos
It's already been an historic season for Olympiacos. Before this term they had only ever reached one quarter-final in European football. That was 25 years ago when losing in the last eight of the Champions League to Ajax. Now they are in their first ever European final and it just happens to be played in their own country. Not on home soil though but at the Agia Sophia Stadium, the home of rivals AEK Athens.
It’s been an even longer European season for Olympiacos. They began this season in the Europa League and had to go through two qualifying rounds to get into the group stage. They then finished only third in Group A behind West Ham United and Freiburg. When losing 5-0 at the German Bundesliga side they probably weren’t thinking of possible European glory later in the season.
After ten games they found themselves transferred to the Europa Conference League. In the Knockout play-off round, they beat Ferencvaros, winning both legs 1-0. Then came the round of 1 and a dramatic tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv, one they very nearly lost.
The first leg was at home but Olympiacos were beaten 4-1 by the Israeli side. Amazingly, they won the away leg by the same score and then added two more in extra-time to win 7-5 on aggregate.
It was tough in the last eight too as they needed a penalty shootout to get past Fenerbahce. The semi-finals saw them face English Premier League side Aston Villa. An excellent away first leg saw them win 4-2 at Villa Park with Ayoub El Kaabi scoring a hat-trick. He was on target again in the second leg scoring both goals in a 2-0 win.
The Moroccan striker has scored ten goals in the Europa Conference League this season and is certain to end as top scorer. He also scored five times in the Europa League and there are odds of 3.4 at Unibet for him to score in this final. Still not sure who'll win, then read our Europa Conference League predictions.
Important informations
- Broadcast: TNT Sports (discovery+)
- Time: 20:00 (Wednesday 29 May 2024)
- Stadium: OPAP Arena (Athens, Greece)
- Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portuguese)
- Livescore: Live Olympiacos - Fiorentina
