Maccabi Haifa vs Fiorentina: Preview
Fresh off a wet fart against 10-man Torino, Fiorentina resumes its Conference League duties with a trip to Hungary to take on Israel’s Maccabi Haifa. The Viola have never faced an Israeli team in an official game, so the folks at Transfermarkt will have to update the data after the final whistle.
The referee for this one is 35-year-old Donatas Rumšas of Lithuania. In 7 appearances this year, he’s handed out 36 yellow cards, 3 red cards, and 6 penalties, which paints the picture of a match official who isn’t scared to get involved in the action. He’s only worked one game each with Italian and Israeli teams: he handled Lazio’s last-minute win at Celtic back in October, as well as a Hapoel Beer Sheva loss in qualifying a couple years ago.
The match will be played Thursday, 7 March 2024, at 8:00 PM GMT/3:00 PM EST, at the Bozsik Stadion in Budapest, Hungary (it counts as a home match for the Greens, because, due to obvious geopolitical reasons, playing a match in Israel isn’t an option right now). The forecast calls for a chilly evening, possibly with a sprinkling of rain, which shouldn’t dampen the spirits of the 400 Viola fans officially in attendance; that number should tell you the yes, the stadium will likely be pretty empty.
Maccabi Haifa
Last year’s Israeli Premier League champions have enjoyed another good season. They currently sit 2nd in the league, just a point back from Maccabi Tel Aviv but with the league’s best goal difference. They’re undefeated in 8 straight across all competitions. They arrive at this stage of the Conference League after finishing 3rd in their Europa League group (well behind Villarreal and Rennes) and then squeaking past Gent in the playoff.
Manager Messay Dego is missing a raft of players: Sun Menahem, Mahmoud Jaber, Ilay Hajaj, Dolev Haziza, Dean David, Erik Shuranov, and Tomer Hemed are all set to miss out. Dego’s tough to pin down, tactically speaking. He switches between 3 and 4 at the back, 1 or 2 strikers, and various midfield configurations; he’ll probably send out a 3-4-2-1, but could change it up to take advantage of any weakness he picks up on. Striker Frantzdy Pierrot (14 goals) is the main threat, with Lior Refaelov (5 goals, 7 assists) pulling the strings. Keep an eye out for former Serie A guys like Lorenco Šimić and Suf Podgoreanu as well.
Maccabi Haifa has mostly sat deep and soaked up pressure in their European fixtures, looking to hit at pace on the counter. Pierrot is a problem, using his size and pace to get in behind, with Refaelov and the other attacker(s) looking to play off him. They won’t try to keep the ball at the back and will likely try to hit over the top at every opportunity. In short, it’ll be the usual Fiorentina European date. Oh joy.
Fiorentina
The up-and-down nature of this Fiorentina continues to confound; every time this team seems to have found its footing, it slips back down to the bottom of the mountain. Signature wins (5-1 against Frosinone, 2-1 against Lazio) are followed by miserable showings (draws at Empoli and Torino). At this point, trying to predict what this team will do next is pointless, especially away from home. Unless, of course, you predict bad things.
Manager Vincenzo Italiano won’t have Lucas Martínez Quarta but gets Oliver Christensen, Arthur, and Christian Kouamé back, although it’s quite possible that they’ll all start from the bench. It’ll be the usual 4-2-3-1, of course, with Alfred Duncan likely returning to the engine room after Giacomo Bonaventura failed to produce in a deeper role. The main question is how much Cousin Vinnie wants to rotate his team: after fielding the same XI in consecutive matches for the first time in his Fiorentina career, he’ll likely return to his usual tinkering.
Look, you know and I know how this game’s going to go: Fiorentina will keep possession, usually in Maccabi Haifa’s half, and probe for openings while minimizing the Greens’ chances to counter. If this sounds familiar, well, it is. This is the formula. The only possible variations come from outlier events, like goals at either end. If (and it’s a big if, given Fiorentina’s recent away record) the good guys can grab a goal, they should be in good shape heading back to Florence. If (and it’s a small if) they can’t, things could get very exciting indeed. And nobody wants that kind of excitement.
Possible lineups
How to watch
TV: Check the international television listings to be sure, but outlook not so good.
Online: Here is your list of safe, reliable, and legal streams.
Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
Fiorentina are big favorites with most of the bookmakers for all the obvious reasons, not least of which is the fact that it’s an away match for both teams. I still think it’ll be closer than the bookies expect, largely because the Viola are wildly inconsistent, especially outside the friendly confines of the Artemio Franchi, while Maccabi Haifa have been on a heater of late.
Even so, I’ll call for a 0-2 win for the good guys. I’m betting on a centerback scoring from a set piece (given their records, I’ll take Luca Ranieri over Nikola Milenković) and a penalty from Nico González to wrap up the scoring in a game that’s about as dour as they come, at least until we all get the release of joy at full time. Please?
