Match facts on tonight`s game

This is the 10th time that an Italian side and an English club will meet in a European final. This includes the European Cup/Champions League, Cup Winners Cup, and Super Cup (it has never happened in the UEFA Cup/Europa League). The Italian team has come out on top in six of the nine previous finals.

The last time an Italian side prevailed against an English club in a European final was in back in 2006/07 in the Champions League final. There, Milan defeated Liverpool 2-1 in Greece. That came two years after England’s most recent triumph in a European final at the expense of an Italian side. The two clubs met in Istanbul two years before, where Liverpool came from three goals down to defeat Milan on penalties.

West Ham’s only previous experience against Italian opposition in Europe came in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup first round. There, they lost both legs to Parma (1-0 at home, 3-0 away). As for Fiorentina, they have a 6-3-3 record against English sides in Europe, which is quite solid. Their last encounter came in the 2015/16 Europa League round of 32 against Tottenham. Despite knocking Spurs out of Europe in the same round a year prior, this time Fiorentina was no match, going down 4-1 on aggregate (1-1 at home, 3-0 away)

Fiorentina is also looking to keep the Europa Conference League trophy in Italy a year on after Roma defeated Feyenoord in the inaugural final. The last time two different teams from the same country won the same European club competition in back-to-back years came in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Sevilla and Villarreal did so for Spain in the Europa League, the former defeating Inter, while the latter topped Manchester United.

Of course, the winner of this season’s Europa Conference League will earn a spot in the Europa League group stage in September. As neither side has qualified for Europe domestically , this match takes on even greater significance