Fiorentina vs The New Saints Prediction: La Viola to be too classy

The New Saints will be heading into unheralded territory on Thursday evening as they become the first Welsh club to participate in the group stages of a UEFA club competition. TNS have been paired before with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in European qualifiers, but this trip to Florence is a watershed moment as they get set to tackle the Serie A side that has featured in the previous two Conference League finals.

It's a momentous occasion for TNS but, while Fiorentina may field a much-changed side, it could also be a long night in Italy. Read on for my Fiorentina vs The New Saints prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

TNS boss Craig Harrison brought Danny Davies, Dan Williams, Rory Holden and Remi Oteh into his starting XI for the 6-1 win over Newtown as his team bounced back from losses against Penybont and Bala Town.

Forward Jordan Williams will be suspended in Florence, meaning Ryan Brobbel and Declan McManus could be vying for a start - the latter scored at the weekend after the pair came on as subs.

Raffaele Palladino has endured a tough start as boss in Florence, with six draws in eight matches across all competitions leaving his team down in 13th spot in Serie A.

Defenders Luca Ranieri and Pietro Comuzzo will serve suspensions here and the Fiorentina boss is very likely to shuffle his pack, with some key names like Moise Kean perhaps held in reserve for the weekend game against AC Milan.

Defender Marin Pongracic and midfielder Rolando Mandragora are fitness doubts.

Fiorentina vs The New Saints Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Fiorentina vs The New Saints Odds page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this matchy

The sheer scale of the challenge in front of the Welsh outfit is represented in the match odds, with Fiorentina priced at 1/28 to win in 90 minutes, The New Saints a massive 33/1 poke and even the draw coming in at 11/1.

TNS would relish a goal in Florence and it's 2/1 for both teams to score. La Viola are 8/15 to win both halves, while the home side are 1/1 to score over 3.5 goals.

Over 4.5 Goals @ 6/4

TNS are making a piece of history here in becoming the first Cymru Premier club to participate in a UEFA group or league phase and they could hardly have asked for a tougher starting point.

Fiorentina were beaten finalists in this competition in the last two seasons. Even allowing for the managerial change this summer that saw Vincenzo Italiano depart for Bologna, they should be too strong for this opposition.

The UEFA coefficient table suggests a gaping chasm between Fiorentina (44th) and The New Saints (162nd) and that will surely manifest itself across the 90 minutes with the goals likely to flow for the hosts.

Bet Builder – Fiorentina half-time/full-time, Over 3.5 Goals & Fiorentina Over 8.5 corners @ 14/5

Reigning back the goals a touch and going for a dominant home win with plenty of Fiorentina corners is a second option. TNS are going to find it hard to hold possession against a team of their hosts’ quality.

They will be pressed backwards throughout and there should be plenty of last-ditch defending and pressured clearances. La Viola amassed 15 corners in their qualifier home leg against Puskas Academy.

TNS suffered back-to-back league reverses prior to the weekend win over Newtown and they should come up well shy in this company, so over 3.5 goals looks a safe play and it will be a major shock if they can hold out for 45 minutes.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.