Meeting in Athens for the UEFA Europa League final, Greek giants Olympiacos and last year's runners-up Fiorentina will clash for glory on Wednesday evening.
Although Olympiacos' home ground is just 10 miles from the AEK Arena, their Italian opponents aim to spoil the home side's celebrations and avenge last year's painful defeat in Prague.
Both teams have reached the final after a series of dramatic comebacks and high-scoring matches, promising an enthralling contest.
By dismantling Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa in the semi-finals with a commanding 6-2 aggregate victory, Olympiacos secured their place in a final that holds special significance for their fans, who won't have to travel far to witness their team's first European final.
The Red-Whites edged past Maccabi Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce in the previous rounds, dramatically beating the former after extra time and the latter on penalties. A masterclass from Moroccan striker Ayoub El Kaabi sealed their spot in this week's decider.
El Kaabi, who netted five goals against Villa, has scored 15 goals in continental competition this season-the most by any African footballer in a single European campaign. He has become the symbol of Olympiacos' remarkable progress in 2024.
Experienced coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, appointed in mid-February after Carlos Carvalhal's departure, has led his new club to the brink of a historic achievement. He previously guided a struggling Sevilla side to yet another Europa League title.
Mendilibar has already made Olympiacos only the second Greek team to reach a UEFA final, 64 years after their debut in European competition.
With Wednesday's game taking place practically in their own backyard, the squad faces unique pressure, having just finished third in the Greek Super League following a 2-2 draw with arch-rivals Panathinaikos in their final domestic fixture.
Olympiacos is the first club to contest a European final in their home country since Marseille lost the 2018 Europa League final to Atletico Madrid. Notably, each of the last four teams to do so has ended up a runner-up.
With over a week of preparation time, Olympiacos coach Jose Luis Mendilibar will have all his key players available for Wednesday's final, including former Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic, who has recently returned from injury.
Jovetic, who scored 40 goals in 135 appearances for Fiorentina between 2008 and 2013, secured Europa League qualification with a late goal in the derby draw with Panathinaikos. However, he is unlikely to start against his former club.
Daniel Podence, who was sent off in the last match, and Kostas Fortounis are expected to support star striker Ayoub El Kaabi in the final third. El Kaabi is the top scorer across all European competitions this season, with 10 goals in the knockout stages alone.
Panagiotis Retsos, a defender for the national team, will partner David Carmo in defense, while goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis recently received his first senior call-up for Greece.
Olympiacos' UEFA squad list excluded only young English defender Nelson Abbey and Portuguese winger Gelson Martins.
While their rivals for the Conference League trophy dropped into Europe's third-tier tournament after exiting the Europa League, Fiorentina navigated the qualifiers for the second straight season, earning another shot at redemption.
Defeated by Jarrod Bowen's 90th-minute winner for West Ham United last year, the Viola are determined to bring silverware back to Florence and secure a place in next season's revamped Europa League.
En route to the Greek capital, the Serie A side have remained unbeaten in 13 European matches-the longest such streak in their history-progressing through the playoff round and topping Group F last autumn.
Throughout the knockout phase, Fiorentina has shown resilience. They secured a stoppage-time winner against Maccabi Haifa in the last 16, achieved an extra-time victory over Viktoria Plzen, and saw Lucas Beltran's late penalty sink Club Brugge in the semi-finals.
Vincenzo Italiano's penultimate game in charge offers a chance to silence critics who claim he struggles on the big stage. Despite being a highly-regarded tactician, Italiano lost last season's Coppa Italia and Conference League finals and exited dramatically to Atalanta in this season's cup semi-finals. Fiorentina finished eighth in Serie A, so he has much to prove on Wednesday night.
Fiorentina's defeat in Prague last year was their fourth loss in five continental finals, leaving the 1961 European Cup Winners' Cup as their sole European triumph. Thus, both Fiorentina and Olympiacos face significant pressure to claim victory in Athens.
The Viola's only absentee is winger Riccardo Sottil, who fractured his collarbone earlier this month.
Known for his unpredictable selections, Vincenzo Italiano has named the same starting XI in consecutive games just once during his three-year tenure at the club, suggesting potential surprises in his lineup.
Regular starters like Nico Gonzalez, Arthur, Lucas Beltran, and Christian Kouame rested in Fiorentina's recent match, where they spoiled Claudio Ranieri's emotional send-off by beating Cagliari 3-2 in Sardinia.
However, Antonin Barak and Jonathan Ikone are expected to return to the bench, making way for more familiar faces.
Beltran, Fiorentina's leading goalscorer in the Conference League this season with four goals, including a crucial penalty in Bruges to win the semi-final tie, will likely partner with either Andrea Belotti or the rejuvenated M'Bala Nzola in attack.
Olympiacos: Konstantinos Tzolakis, Rodinei, Panagiotis Retsos, David Carmo, Quini, Santiago Hezze, Vicente Iborra, Kostas Fortounis, Chiquinho, Daniel Podence, and Ayoub El Kaabi. (4-2-3-1)
Fiorentina: Pietro Terracciano, Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Lucas MartÃnez Quarta, Cristiano Biraghi, Arthur, Rolando Mandragora, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lucas Beltran, Christian Kouame, and M'Bala Nzola. (4-2-3-1).
All in all, Fiorentina are without a win in their last three games against a Greek side (2 draws, 1 defeat), although those three matches were all against the same opposition (PAOK).
A record of six losses in their last seven encounters with Italian clubs (winning just one) makes for unenviable reading, but Jose Luis Mendilibar's side enters this showpiece event in good form, having tasted defeat in just two of their last 12 competitive matches (8-2-2). Mendilibar, appointed in February, also guided Sevilla to Europa League success last season, giving fans of the Greek giants confidence in a manager who knows how to deliver on the big stage.
While Mendilibar will have fond memories from twelve months ago, the story was quite different for Fiorentina. After a heartbreaking loss to West Ham in the final of this competition, La Viola finished as runners-up. A win here would not only erase that painful memory but also end a 63-year wait to bring major European silverware back to Tuscany's biggest club.
Fiorentina, often regarded as the nearly-men of Italian football, may face disappointment once more, potentially extending the match into extra time and penalties. However, if Olympiacos triumphs, it will ignite the mother of all celebrations on the historic streets of Athens.
