It's time for the Europa Conference League final, bringing an end to what has been a tremendous competition throughout the season. Olympiakos have over achieved, and done brilliantly to reach the final, now they will take on Fiorentina, and one of these two will lift the trophy after this game, and book a spot in the Europa League next season.
Olympiakos Form GuideI do think that Olympiakos have a slight advantage here, given the game will be played at the OPAP Arena, in Greece, the home of AEK Athens. That means no travelling, and surroundings they will have been around many times before.
A magnificent win over two legs against Aston Villa in the semi finals got them here, eventually winning the tie 6-2 on aggregate, winning 4-2 away from home and then finishing the job with a 2-0 home win. That was dominant against the team seen by the bookmakers as favourites to lift the trophy. Olympiakos played their final game of the domestic season against Panathinaikos where they drew 2-2, and now have more than a week off to rest before this final.
Fiorentina Form GuideAlways amongst the favourites for this competition, it is fair to say that Fiorentina have had more European expectations than most, and so far they've managed to navigate their way to the final, with one more hurdle to jump over.
Fiorentina won 4-3 on aggregate in the semi finals, beating Belgian side Club Brugge. They won 3-2 in the first leg at home, then went away from home and finished the job with a 1-1 tie to make sure they remained ahead of aggregate. I do think they've done things the hard way at times, through determination rather than showing their quality, but of course, this is a team that has a lot of quality on their day.
Match PredictionI think we are in for a really good final here, one I'm looking forward to watching. Olympiakos have defied the odds on a few occasions already in this tournament, and given this final is in Greece, I think they offer excellent value to get the job done here. At big odds, I will take them to win the game in 90 minutes and lift the Europa Conference League trophy.
