Basel vs Fiorentina

Out-of-form Fiorentina head to St. Jakob-Park to meet Basel in the return leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie, looking to haul back a 2-1 deficit.

Basel rallied from a goal deficit to clinch a potentially crucial 2-1 victory in the first leg. This triumph places them on the verge of making history, as preserving their lead would see Basel become the first-ever Swiss team to reach the final of a major European tournament. However, they will need to display significant improvement from their disappointing 6-1 loss to St. Gallen in the Swiss Super League away match over the weekend. On a more positive note, they will be relying on their strong home form, having suffered only three defeats in their last 23 home European matches (W17, D3), to assist them in moving closer to that objective. Moreover, they’ve progressed from all six European knockout ties when winning the first leg away on the road.

On the other hand, visiting Fiorentina cruised to a 2-0 home win over fellow Serie A rivals Udinese at the weekend, halting an underwhelming three-match winless run in all competitions (D1, L2). But playing on the road has been their Achilles heel of late, as they’ve gone winless on their last three road trips (D1, L2), conceding an average of 2.33 goals per game. That’s unlikely to inspire their bid to reach the next knockout round after bowing out in their last six European knockout ties after losing the first leg. If that’s not enough to make Vincenzo Italiano’s men worry, a three-game winless record against Basel in European competition (D1, L2) could land a crucial blow. Yet, there’s a silver lining as ‘La Viola’ have only lost one of their last 11 European fixtures on foreign soil (W8, D2).