UEFA Europa Conference League
Conference League semi-finals second leg preview
The UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals are back this week for the all-important return fixture, which will determine both finalists and send two teams packing with their hopes of European silverware in tatters.
There was plenty to write home about in both of the opening legs, with 11 goals between the two, as Olympiacos travelled to Villa Park and managed to pull off a remarkable 4-2 win against the Villans, whilst Fiorentina took full advantage of Club Brugge’s red card, slotting a last-minute winner between the sticks to win 3-2.
We preview both of the second leg fixtures below.
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Club Brugge (2) v Fiorentina (3) – Wednesday 8th May 17:45
Fiorentina cashed in their chips against Club Brugge in the opener as they managed to create a one-goal cushion ahead of the deciding fixture on Wednesday. The first leg saw plenty of drama with five goals, one red card and a last-minute winner, which will undoubtedly fuel the fires of both teams, in their pursuit of reaching the final.
Club Brugge will take some comfort in the fact that they will be in front of home fans in the return leg, which should prove beneficial when trying to overcome the one-goal deficit, for which they are 11/8, and 2/1 to win the tie. Disregarding the result of the opening leg, Club Brugge have been in fine form and will be pining for redemption against the Italian outfit, to get back to winning ways. The Belgian side have recorded 22 goals in their last nine games, only conceding six times (including their loss to Fiorentina) and have a wealth of talent at their disposal to hit the back of the net. The market leaders to score anytime in the match for the home side are Igor Thiago (9/5), Ferran Jutglà (12/5) and Andreas Skov Olsen (5/2).
Fiorentina find themselves in a bit of sticky situation ahead of this clash and, despite being one goal up, the final still looks a large mountain to climb. The Italians find themselves narrow outsiders at 13/8 to win the game within 90 minutes, but as short as 4/11 to win the tie. Club Brugge will be throwing the kitchen sink at this game and Fiorentina will have their work cut out if they are to proceed into the final game of the competition. That said, Fiorentina did manage to sneak three past their opponents in the opener, and Nicolás González (23/10), Andrea Belotti (13/5) and Lucas Beltrán (13/5) have all been backed to do so this time.
Olympiacos (4) v Aston Villa (2) – Thursday 9th May 20:00
Despite being 4/11 favourites heading into the opening leg, Aston Villa fell short by two goals as Olympiacos put on a class display netting four times in the six-goal thriller. Not only did they manage a win away from home but have left the English side with it all to do in the return leg at their home ground in Greece, with a two-goal cushion to their advantage.
Olympiacos yet again enter the betting as 23/10 outsiders ahead of this second leg, but have a tidy short price of 1/5 to keep the Villans at bay and reach the final. Ayoub El Kaabi was the star of the show for the Greek side in the opening leg, managing a phenomenal hat-trick on the European stage and he’s as short as 7/5 to slip another past the Villa keeper. Youssef El-Arabi has also been tipped to hit the back of the net at 23/10, with Stevan Jovetić a close third at 13/5.
As mentioned before, Villa will need to turn up away from home to claw back the deficit, and, as we’ve seen plenty of times in the Premier League this season, they are more than capable of pulling a big result out of the bag. Unai Emery’s men are favourites at 10/11 to win the game, with a larger price of 10/3 to fully overcome the two-goal shortfall and proceed into the final. Ollie Watkins will need to bring his shooting boots to justify his price of 11/8 to score anytime during the match, with eyes also on Jhon Durán (15/8) and Leon Bailey (2/1) to help their side get back on terms and give them the best chance at a stab at European silverware, following a stellar season in the Premier League.
