Fiorentina launches into the final (except for the postponed match against Atalanta) of the Serie A match of the year with a long flight to Sardinia and Cagliari. In the 87 previous meetings, the Viola has a record of 37 W, 25 N, 25 D, including 6 in a row without defeat. The second leg ended 3-0 against the good side in October thanks to goals from Nico González and M’Bala Nzola.
The referee for this one is Alessandro Prontera, 37, from Bologna. In 9 Serie A matches this year, he has distributed 28 yellow cards and 5 penalties; he clearly loves to kick, so be prepared. In 5 previous outings under his leadership, Fiorentina is W3 N1 L1. The last time we saw him was in the 1-1 draw against Empoli in 2023, with a late winner from the head of dear chungus Arthur Cabral.
The match will be played Thursday May 23, 2024has 6:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. EST, at the Unipol Domus in Cagliari. Expect a pretty hot match under the Sardinian sunset, which should be lovely. The atmosphere around the arena should also be beautiful, because the Rossoblù have mathematically ensured the survival of Serie A, even if the behavior of Isolani’s ultras in Florence last October was quite reprehensible – balaclavas, masks, smoke bombs – so this might turn out a little ugly, too.
Cagliari
36 points is not a good return, but it is enough: Cagliari currently occupies 15th place and, thanks to its confrontations against Empoli, guaranteed the security of Serie A even if it was only 3 points from the drop zone on the last matchday. This could lead to a bit of a lax atmosphere, especially on a weeknight, especially with players focused on getting to a beach somewhere.
Manager Claudio Ranieri (everyone’s favorite nonno) won’t have CB Alberto Dossena, DM Antoine Makoumbou or AJ Jakub Jankto. He will feature his usual 4-2-3-1, but, as it is a dead rubber, he could give chances to some of his bench players as a reward for their work this season; Club captain Leonardo Pavoletti, veterans Marco Mancosu and Nicolas Viola and stalwart Nahitan Nández are all out of contract this summer and will almost certainly say goodbye. Viola fans will also keep an eye on Yerry Mina, of course, but Fiorentina’s forwards will be watching him (and their nipples) even more closely.
Ranieri’s style of play is no surprise to anyone at this stage: the main approach is to find the front four in space, hoping to use their combined play to open up the opposition defense or win free kicks, on which they are dangerous. Cagliari has many different strikers: Vito Luvumbo has electric pace, Leonardo Pavoletti is an aerial power, Gianluca Lapadula is an accomplished poacher, Eldor Shomurodov is a pressing maniac and Andrea Petagna is simply enormous. The two backs are also progressing very well and need to be closed down, as Tommaso Augello and Gabriele Zappa are good centers.
Fiorentine
While the focus is rightly on Wednesday’s Conference League final, this match is hugely important for Fiorentina. A win guarantees 8th place in Serie A (as does a draw or defeat for Torino against Atalanta) and qualification for the Conference League next year as well. Although a victory against Olympiacos would obviously be a better result, as it would bring prestige and money to the Europa League, securing any sort of European competition is of paramount importance for a club that does not receive much funding. money on the Rocco Commisso transfer market. these days.
Manager Vincenzo Italiano could rotate his team a little before the final in order to avoid injuries and keep everyone fresh, although the 6 days off could be enough to convince him to drop the starters. It’s unclear which, if any, it will be: predicting Cousin Vinnie’s lineups has always been an impossible task, as evidenced by the fact that he’s only fielded the same XI in consecutive matches once in the during his 3 years in Florence. .
Cagliari will sit deep and tight in 2 banks of 4 defenders, rarely pressing high and focusing on defending their own penalty area. They will likely concede many crosses into a crowded box and will happily allow Fiorentina to pass anywhere outside 35 yards of goal. It’s worked well enough to keep them going, but the Rossoblù have conceded 65 goals this year and, frankly, aren’t very safe there. They conceded a lot of goals in different ways and didn’t keep their opponents out of the box very well; their average shot distance conceded is the worst in the Serie with (drumroll) Fiorentina.
Possible compositions
How to watch
TV: Doubtful but check international TV programs.
Online: Here is your list of safe, reliable and legal streams.
Ted’s Memorial Blind Riddle Department
Fiorentina are favored by the bookmakers, but not as much as you might think, perhaps due to this match seeming like a dead rubber (and again, it’s not) . I would expect a fairly high-scoring match, as Cagliari’s porous defense and Fiorentina’s constant brain farts at the back promise plenty of goalmouth action.
I’ll take the visitors to a 3-2 win, overcoming any initial apathy in a back-and-forth game that’s actually quite fun to watch. Goals from Jonathan Ikoné, Nico González (from the penalty spot) and Rolando Mandragora looked perfect, with Pavoletti and Luvumbo on target for the hosts.
Forza Viola!
