Fiorentina vs FC Basel
UEFA Europa League Conference, KO: 20:00 May 11, 2023, Stadio Artemio Franchi
Fiorentina will be seeking a first leg advantage when they host FC Basel in their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg. The Italians are often dominant at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and should be too strong for their Swiss rivals.
Fiorentina are in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League after claiming a 6-4 aggregate victory over Lech Poznan in the previous round. They claimed a 4-1 win in the first meeting before suffering a 3-2 defeat in the return leg.
The Serie A side have been so impressive in the Conference League that the second leg loss to Lech Poznan ended a run of nine straight wins in the competition. There were a few one-sided results in that run, including a 4-1 victory over Sivasspor, a 4-0 win at Sporting Braga and a 5-1 thrashing of Hearts.
Fiorentina are not heading into Thursday’s clash on the best note as they were beaten 1-0 by newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli. However, having claimed a 5-0 victory over Sampdoria in their previous home fixture, Vincenzo Italiano’s men will be feeling confident in this one.
Basel needed extra time before earning a 4-3 aggregate victory over French side Nice in the previous round of the competition. They battled to a 2-2 draw in the first meeting and were still inseparable after 90 minutes in the second leg before Kasim Adams netted the winner.
While Basel will be pleased with their progress in the competition, they have not been as consistent as Fiorentina. Heiko Vogel’s men have only claimed two regulation time wins in their last 10 Conference League matches and also needed penalties to reach the quarter-finals.
Basel have been slightly erratic heading to the Stadio Artemio Franchi with two wins and two defeats in their last four matches across all competitions. One of those defeats came last Sunday they were beaten 2-0 at home by FC Zurich in a Super League fixture.
How the bookies view it
Fiorentina have been installed as overwhelming favourites by the bookies with a home win priced at 13/25 by Unibet. A victory for Basel is valued at 6/1 by bet365, who is also offering odds of 15/4 for a draw.
Head to head
Both teams met during the group stage of the 2015-16 Europa League with Basel avoiding defeat in both meetings. The Swiss side claimed a 2-1 win in Florence before returning home for a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch
Arthur Cabral has been one of the standout players for Fiorentina in the Conference and will be the one to watch on Thursday. Having found the net six times in his last seven matches in the competition, the striker could be backed to score anytime at 5/4 with bet365.
Basel also have attacking quality of their own, particularly Zeki Amdouni, who has five goals in his last five Conference League matches. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on and is priced at 17/5 by Unibet to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye
Fiorentina have seen over 4.5 goals in their last Conference League matches and a repeat is priced at 21/5 by Paddy Power while over 3.5 goals can also be considered at 17/10 with Unibet. The Italians have seen more goals after the break in three of their last four Conference League matches and Thursday’s clash could be set for a similar pattern at evens with Paddy Power.
Given the one-sided nature of their recent Conference League outings, Fiorentina can be backed in the -1 handicap market at 13/10 with Unibet.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Fiorentina and FC Basel will be played on May 11, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Fiorentina vs FC Basel prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
