Olympiacos vs Fiorentina

AEK Arena in Athens forms the backdrop for the 2023/24 Europa Conference League final between Olympiacos and Fiorentina.

As if destiny wanted the third Conference League final to be held in Athens, only 9km away from Olympiacos’ home of Piraeus, the Greek heavyweights brace for their maiden appearance in a major European final. Olympiacos will hope to avoid the same fate as their arch-rivals Panathinaikos, the only other Greek team to feature in a European showpiece event. They lost 2-0 to Ajax in the 1970/71 European Cup final, but Olympiacos’ incredible Conference League semi-final thrashing of Aston Villa (4-2 A, 2-0 H) makes for enviable reading. Unfortunately, their recent record against Italian clubs can’t inspire much confidence, considering they’ve lost six of their last seven clashes against Serie A teams (W1). Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar could be a catalyst to flip that script after inspiring Sevilla to Europa League glory in 2022/23 at the expense of Fiorentina’s domestic rivals Roma.

Unlike Olympiacos, Fiorentina are no strangers to big European finals, as they contested this fixture only 12 months ago, albeit lost 2-1 to West Ham. The stars have aligned to hand ‘La Viola’ a chance to break their 63-year title duck on the continental front, as they’ve taken Juventus’ place in Europe after UEFA banned the Turin powerhouse from European football for one season. Vincenzo Italiano’s men have seized the opportunity, assembling a club-record 13-game unbeaten streak in continental action (W7, D6) en route to the final. But to make it 14 in a row and, more importantly, claim the title, Fiorentina must defy a three-game winless run against Greek sides (D2, L1). Recent form backs them to do just that, with the Tuscan outfit only losing once in their last seven matches (W4, D2).