Genk - Fiorentina predictions and free betting tips [21/09/2023]

The intrigue in Group F persists as we ponder over the favourite of the bunch?! Many may consider "Fiorentina" as the main contender for the playoffs, to be precise, for the two-legged knockout games from the 1/8 finals. Others may regard the Italians as teams who look powerful on paper, yet may display weaknesses in reality. It's tougher to categorise "Genk" in this group as underdogs, and one wouldn't wish to consider them as favourites either.

Predicted Line-ups

"Genk": Vandevoordt; Munoz, Cuesta, Sadick, Kayembe; Heynen, Galarza, Hrosovsky, El Khannous; Zeqiri, Paintsil.
"Fiorentina": Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Mandragora, Lopez, Bonaventura; Gonzalez, Kouame, Barak.

"Genk"

The Belgians have gradually got their football back on track after an unremarkable start to the season that saw the club failing both in the Champions League and the Europa League. Perhaps, the main coach of the team from Limburg didn't manage to adapt the players to the official season, as currently, "Genk" shows a different kind of game, achieving results in the championship. In the playoff qualifier to the Conference League against the Turkish "Adana Demirspor", the Belgians looked decent, even in the lost match at the "Yeni Adana" stadium. There weren't any complaints against Vauter Vranken's charges, although, had they not won the penalty shootout, club executives and the press may have viewed this battle differently.

In the Premier League, "Genk" is 6th, but the table is so packed that they could easily climb to the top in just a few rounds. It seems to me that the Belgians from Limburg try to play depending on their opponents, as they manage to play some matches ideally as the first number, while others constrain them. For instance, "Union Saint-Gilloise" outperformed "Genk" by many criteria but lost at home 0:2, failing to capitalise on many attacks. Against "Fiorentina", it will be something similar, where they must defend intelligently and use fast attacks to put pressure on the opponent's defence. It's difficult to consider "Genk" capable of taking the initiative in a match against the "violet", but they can occasionally apply pressure on the Italians.

"Fiorentina"

The club from Florence is still unstable this season. The Italian team, struggling with the championship and barely making it through the Conference League playoff round, managed to defeat the Austrian "Rapid" over two games. They conceded on away despite significant advantages, and then made amends for the failure in the home match. In Serie A, "Fiorentina" has two energy-consuming victories, a ridiculous draw against "Lecce", and a 0:4 loss to "Inter". Yes, nobody talks about a disastrous start for the "violet", but the head coach of the Italian team, Vincenzo Italiano, definitely has not received positive emotions.

The Conference League can be considered a convenient tournament for today's "Fiorentina", as last season the club was in the final and even held the advantage over "West Ham" in the title fight, yet they lost, demonstrating less concrete attacking football. I believe that it will be difficult for the "violet" to repeat this success, but there's no doubt that the team has to get out of the group, fulfilling the basic task. "Genk" is a fairly vivid opponent, ready to show their attacking game, so "Fiorentina" needs to prepare for more systematic action, avoiding pointless errors in defence, which were glimpsed in Serie A at the start of this season. 

Prediction for the match: "Genk" - "Fiorentina"

The second half will be key in this match, as both teams won't immediately understand what they should do against their opponent, who seemingly concedes, yet can also score. I wouldn't be surprised by the teams' productive play after the break, and the first half of the meeting should pass without any goals at most a stray ball could sneak in, but no more than that.