Fiorentina vs Club Brugge predictions: Cagey tussle expected in Tuscany
- Fiorentina are unbeaten in their six Europa Conference League games at home
- Fiorentina have been level at full-time in four of their last five European matches
- Recommended bet: Draw
Fiorentina required extra time to get past Viktoria Plzen in the quarter-finals and two more cagey affairs are expected against Club Brugge.
As for the Belgian giants, they have hit their stride of late and go into this game on the back of a seven-game winning streak in all competitions.
Club Brugge find themselves level with Anderlecht at the top of the Belgian First Division A with just four games of the season remaining.
Balancing their quests for domestic and European success is a tricky one for interim manager Nicky Hayen and his side, who might well be content with heading back from Florence with the tie all square ahead of the second leg on May 8.
Team news
Midfielder Rolando Mandragora is Fiorentina's only injury concern as he continues to manage a back issue, while striker M'Bala Nzola's personal reasons are set to keep him out of Thursday's game.
With Fiorentina down in eighth place in the table, Vincenzo Italiano has been clearly focused on this game against Brugge, after making a host of changes to his starting lineup in the 5-1 win over Sassuolo.
Goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, centre-back Nikola Milenkovic and skipper Cristiano Biraghi are all expected to return to the starting XI for this one.
As for the visitors, Andreas Skov Olsen was back in the matchday squad at the weekend after recovering from a hip injury and is likely to feature in some capacity.
Hayen has a decision to make between the sticks, with former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet recovering from a hamstring injury and pushing Nordan Jackers for a starting role.
The stats
Thursday will be the first time these sides have met in a competitive match.
Fiorentina have lost just one of their last nine games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in all competitions.
Club Brugge have lost one of their last 11 outings in all competitions and are on a seven-game winning run ahead of their trip to Tuscany.
Prediction
Given Club Brugge's strong form and Fiorentina's impressive results on their own patch in recent weeks, Thursday's semi-final first leg might well end in a draw.
With the scoreline level at full-time in four of Fiorentina's last five games in the Europa Conference League, it would be little surprise to see that trend continue here.
Neither side will want to give too much away in this first leg and the tie might well be all square heading into next week's return match at Jan Breydelstadion.
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