Key events
Olympiakos finished third in this season’s Super League Greece 1 thanks to a final-day draw at Panathinaikos. The latest edition of the Derby of the Eternal Enemies finished 2-2, Olympiakos coming back from two goals down thanks to late goals from Daniel Podence and Stevan Jovetić. Podence then managed to get himself sent off, but that doesn’t carry over into Uefa competition. They make three changes to their starting XI after that brouhaha: Francisco Ortega, Chiquinho and Vicente Iborra are in, André Horta, João Carvalho and Omar Richards dropping to the bench.
Fiorentina haven’t yet finished their Serie A obligations – they’ll play Europa League champions Atalanta on Sunday – but whatever happens there they’ll finish in eighth place. Their penultimate fixture was at Cagliari last Thursday; they won 3-2, turning things around in the last two minutes with a Nicolas Gonzalez equaliser and an Arthur penalty. Arthur, of 13-minute Liverpool legend, is one of four call-ups to the starting XI after that match; Nicolás González, Lucas Martínez Quarta and Christian Kouamé are also in. Jonathan Ikoné, Luca Ranieri and Antonín Barák drop to the bench, while Gaetano Castrovilli is ineligible.
The teams
Olympiakos: Tzolakis, Rodinei, Retsos, Carmo, Ortega, Hezze, Iborra, Daniel Podence, Chiquinho, Fortounis, El Kaabi.
Subs: Paschalakis, Andre Horta, El Arabi, Alexandropoulos, Quini, Masouras, Joao Carvalho, Jovetic, Richards, Apostolopoulos, Ndoj, Papadoudis.
Fiorentina: Terracciano, Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez, Biraghi, Arthur, Mandragora, Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Kouame, Belotti.
Subs: Lopez, Beltran, Ikone, Ranieri, Nzola, Infantino, Faraoni, Duncan, Kayode, Christensen, Parisi, Barak.
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal).
Preamble
A couple of big narrative strands dangle over the AEK Arena tonight, just begging to be tied up. Will Olympiakos become the first-ever Greek side to win a major European club trophy? They’ll take possession of the Greatest Recent Cup Run baton from Manchester United if they do, having come back from a 4-1 first-leg home defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the round of 16, and stuck six goals past upwardly mobile Aston Villa in the semis. Or can Fiorentina lift their first European pot in 63 years, since the 1961 Cup Winners’ Cup? They’ll extend their unbeaten run on the continent to 14 matches if they manage it, their last defeat being in last season’s final against West Ham. Should they go one step further this time, they’ll honour their victory to their late general manager Joe Barone, who died in March.
The Viola are slight bookies favourites to follow Roma and the Hammers as champions of Uefa’s sparkly new competition. But Olympiacos of Piraeus, part of Greater Athens, have home advantage – sort of, on their city rivals AEK Athens’ turf – and are coached by a man who won last year’s Europa League, José Luís Mendilibar, formerly of Sevilla. So this is set up to be a cracker. Here’s hoping it delivers. Strand-knotting begins at 8pm BST, 10pm local. It’s on!
