Fiorentina vs Twente

Stadio Artemio Franchi is the venue as Fiorentina and Twente lock horns in the first leg of their tasty-looking Europa Conference League playoff tie.

Fiorentina eked out a dramatic 3-2 home triumph over newly-promoted Cremonese in their opening 2022/23 Serie A fixture, courtesy of the opposition goalkeeper’s epic howler in the dying moments. Keen to end an exhausting five-year absence from a European competition proper, ‘La Viola’ come into proceedings knowing they must improve on their indifferent continental record against Dutch opponents in the 21st century (W1, D2, L1). With all those four fixtures containing under 2.5 total goals, there’s a good chance the Artemio Franchi crowd could witness a low-scoring contest. Yet, last season included, Vincenzo Italiano’s men have netted 2+ goals in three consecutive competitive home outings (W3), suggesting they may buck a low-scoring European trend against Eredivisie clubs now.

In the meantime, it’s been one hell of a start to the new season for Twente, as they’ve won all four competitive matches by an aggregate score of 11-2. That run includes a 7-2 aggregate victory over Serbian side Cukaricki in the previous Europa Conference League qualifying round (3-1 A, 4-1 H). Stretching back to April, Ron Jans’ men are unbeaten in five successive away matches across all competitions (W4, D1), averaging 1.8 goals per game in that sequence. Despite their relatively sparse European experience, Twente’s six-game international record against Serie A clubs gives the travelling support something to cheer about (W2, D2, L2). Their evenly balanced away record on Italian soil (W1, D1, L1) amplifies their hopes of staging an upset here.