Fiorentina vs West Ham online streaming, predictions & Head to Head

With West Ham into their first European final in 24 years since the Intertoto Cup of 1999, and Fiorentina having not been in a continental cup final for 33 years, history will be made when these two face each other at the Eden Arena in Prague this Wednesday.

The Florentines share a similar European record to the Hammers, with their first continental trophy coming by way of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. West Ham’s victory came in 1965 against 1860 Munich, and Fiorentina’s came a few years prior in a two-legged victory over Scottish giants Rangers.

Since the swinging sixties though, it’s been relatively barren in the trophy department for two clubs that are very well-known both domestically and abroad. On Wednesday, this will change for one of them.

I Viola have had a well-travelled route to the final, Vincenzo Italiano has led his side from Portugal to Poland and Turkey to Scotland and finished second in their group behind Istanbul Basakehir who managed to put three goals past them. They battled through Braga in the round of 16 after a closely contested 3-2 first leg, but the tie finished 7-2 on aggregate and Fiorentina’s championship form continued with a 5-1 defeat on aggregate to another Turkish outfit, Sivasspor. In the quarter-finals, they took an early lead against Lech Poznan winning heat one 4-1 but the plucky Poles threatened an incredible comeback with a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Italians from powering through. They saw off a strong Basel side in the semi-finals and are actually in red-hot form in all competitions, they have lost only one of their last five games, which was at the hands of Inter in the other final they reached this year, the Coppa Italia, since that closely-fought defeat, they have gone on to defeat Europa League finalists Roma and smash their way past Sassuolo 3-1 in their latest fixture.

West Ham started off their Conference League campaign in style, they comfortably beat Danish side Viborg before taking maximum points in the group stage against tough opponents in Belgian’s Anderlecht and Silkeborg and FCSB from Romania. They were the only team in the competition to win all of their group games. They breezed through AEK Larnaca 6-0 on aggregate before facing tougher opposition in Gent who held them to a draw at home before West Ham put them to the sword back in London with a 4-1 win. They faced AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals and came out on top in a nervy second leg as they weathered the storm away from home and came out eventual 3-1 winners on aggregate. The Hammers have been in patchy form of late, winning three of their last five, two of which are the Alkmaar games, and a 3-1 win that sent Leeds United to their doom, but have also been beaten by Leicester City and Brentford recently.

The leadership and tenacity of Declan Rice cannot go unmentioned, capable of doing both the spectacular and keeping it simple when needed, there is very little that the midfielder cannot do. Already vastly experienced internationally at such a young age, his calming influence and leadership will play a part as the game reaches its latter stages. Several defensive masterclasses from Fiorentina have cast an eye towards a certain Argentine defender at the heart of their defence in Lucas Martinez, but the key to success could come from journeyed midfielder, Giacomo Bonaventura. Known affectionately as Jack, he has featured in 14 European games this term. Although his pacey years may be behind him, his footballing brain is perhaps at its peak. He plays with complete composure and control and his passing ability and ball control mean that Fiorentina rarely have to worry about recycling possession.

If you’re in the UK, you can watch the final through the BT Sport App or on BT Sport 1.

Expert Insight: It’s hard to argue which team has the deeper pool of players, the youthful adventurousness of West Ham will mean explosive attacks and relentless energy, but the patience and experience of Fiorentina’s calculated build-up play through the middle could frustrate the Londoners. It will be a close game.