Fiorentina vs Rigas FC prediction, preview, team news and more

Fiorentina play host to Rigas FC at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in their Conference League curtain-raiser on Thursday.

Both sides have been drawn into Group A of the competition, alongside Istanbul Basaksehir and Scottish outfit Hearts.

Fiorentina failed to arrest their slump as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Juventus in Serie A last weekend.

They have now failed to win their last five games in all competitions, claiming four draws and losing once in that time.

Fiorentina now turn their sights to the Conference League, where they booked their place in the competition courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate win over Twente in the qualifying playoffs.

Meanwhile, Rigas enjoyed an unbeaten run in the Conference League qualifiers, claiming two wins and two draws from their four games.

They saw off Linfield on penalties in their playoff-round clash, following a 3-3 aggregate draw with the Northern Irish outfit.

Rigas FC are unbeaten in their last eight games across all competitions, claiming five wins and three draws since a 3-2 loss against Super Nova on August 7.

Fiorentina vs Rigas FC Head-To-Head

This will be the first-ever meeting between Fiorentina and Rigas, who will both be looking to get their Conference League campaign underway with a win.

Fiorentina Form Guide: D-L-D-D-D

Rigas FC Form Guide: D-W-W-W-D

Fiorentina vs Rigas FC Team News

Fiorentina

Fiorentina will be without Igor, who is currently suspended. On the injury front, the Serie A side will be unable to call upon Gaetano Castrovilli, who is recuperating from an ACL injury.

Injured: Gaetano Castrovilli

Suspended: Igor

Rigas FC

The Latvian outfit head into the midweek clash with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

Fiorentina vs Rigas FC Predicted XI

Fiorentina Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pietro Terracciano; Dodô, Nikola Milenković, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Cristiano Biraghi; Antonín Barák, Sofyan Amrabat, Youssef Maleh; Christian Kouamé, Luka Jović, Riccardo Sottil

Rigas FC Predicted XI (4-3-3): Pāvels Šteinbors; Žiga Lipušček, Vladislavs Sorokins, Vitālijs Jagodinskis, Petr Mareš; Tomáš Šimkovič, Stefan Panić; Kevin Friesenbichler, Tomislav Šarić, Andrej Ilić; Emerson Deocleciano

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Fiorentina vs Rigas FC Prediction

While Fiorentina have stuttered in recent weeks, they head into Thursday as firm favorites to claim all three points thanks to the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides.

We are backing the Italian side to make use of their home advantage to pick up a comfortable opening-day victory.

Prediction: Fiorentina 3-0 Rigas FC

About the author

Joshua is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda who covers news and match previews. He fell in love with the sport watching Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o win titles at club and international level, and his passion for the sport led him to become a professional football writer. He has an overall professional experience of 5 years.

Joshua supports Chelsea at club level, having witnessed a number of African stars break records with the club. Drogba’s equalizing header and match-winning shootout penalty for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final left a last impact on him. His favorite player is Eden Hazard and favorite manager is Jose Mourinho, who gave him the most joyous days as a Blues supporter. He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is unlucky to be born in Messi’s era and favors the Argentine in the G.O.A.T. debate.

Joshua also follows the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Nigeria Professional Football League and loves to play football during his free time. Having attained a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, he employs his problem-solving skills in crafting articles while doing extensive research to ensure each article is well thought out and crafted.

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