Fiorentina gets to put the disappointment of another blown lead in Serie A behind it with a trip north to keep the Conference League dream alive; indeed, that’s pretty much all that’s giving us fans any life at all right now. The opponent? Rapid Wien, currently 3rd in the other Bundesliga. Rapid started the season well but has lost its last 4 on the bounce, scoring 3 and conceding 11. The match will be played on Thursday, 23 October 2025, at 16:45 GMT/12:45 PM EST, at the Allianz Stadion in Vienna.
The forecast calls for a surprisingly warm evening but with a chance of rain around halftime.That shouldn’t put off the 1200ish traveling fans, though, many of whom will have fond memories from this fixture 2 years ago. Yup, Fiorentina faced Rapid Wien in the Conference League playoff in 2022. As you may recall, the hosts earned a 1-0 win at the Allianz that Vincenzo Italiano and company overturned back in Florence. For a quick reminder of who the die Grün-Weißen, refer back to my doofy introduction from back then.
Three things to watch for
1. Can the 2nd-choice guys earn a bigger role?
Fiorentina’s starters have been about as shit as any group in team history, which is the exact sort of circumstance in which the backups’ popularity among the supporters skyrockets. After all, why stick with these overpaid divas who don’t even care? Why not send them to the bench to motivate them and see what a younger, hungrier group can do on the pitch?
I tend to ignore that discourse on the grounds that the backups are backups for a reason. With the Viola in complete disarray, though, Stefano Pioli may have no choice but to reward some strong performances in this one. Pietro Comuzzo is the most obvious candidate to return to the first XI, but Cher Ndour, Niccolò Fortini, Albert Guðmundsson, and Roberto Piccoli could all stake a claim to more minutes with strong showings.
2. Is the talent gap enough?
Fiorentina is undefeated in the Conference League so far, which is less impressive when you consider that it dispatched a badly-outmatched Sigma Olomouc in the first fixture of league play. The defining feature of that game was the physical dominance of Roberto Piccoli: he was too strong and too fast for the Hanáci defense to cope with. Couple that with a press that was simply too much for the Czechs and you have a victory that was more about talent than scheme.
In theory, the Viola will still enjoy a talent advantage against SK Rapid. In reality, though, I’m less certain. Pioli’s going to rotate the squad and the Austrians have plenty of quality, too, boasting a smattering of international players. Normally, I’d say that Fiorentina might be starting at a deficit but because die Grün-Weißen have been abject over the past few weeks too, I’m honestly not sure where to go with it. This one might be less a battle of talent and more a battle of vibes between two sides that ought to be better than their recent form shows.
3. Even the slightest bit of coherence.
The bar for this Fiorentina side could not be lower, which means I’m like every other fan: looking for the smallest sign of progress. I’m not expecting Pioli to conjure up a Prandelli/Montella/Italiano side out of nowhere but I’d like to see this bunch of misfit toys actually play as a team, at least a little bit in at least a couple phases of play, and yes, I am down about as bad as I’ve ever been with this club.
For example, if the Viola can consistently progress the ball into the attacking third in two different ways, keep it tight between the lines, avoid silly mistakes in their own third, and connect in the middle, I’ll be ecstatic. Hell, success in any two of those four categories would represent a significant improvement. I want very badly to believe that this team isn’t sunk and will take even the smallest hint to mean that it isn’t, but the players have to give me the tiniest shred of evidence. Anything, really. Anything.
Possible lineups
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Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
The bookies bizarrely have Fiorentina favored here. I don’t know if they’re just looking at the name brand and making assumptions or what, but anyone who’s seen this team play in 2025-2026 knows that it shouldn’t be favored under any circumstances or against any opponent. I don’t really care that Rapid Wien’s also lost in the woods at the moment. The crisis around the Viola threatens to overwhelm them and they look as fragile as I can remember in 20 years of following them.
You know the drill here, though: TMBGD is always a place of optimism, so I’ll call it a scrappy 0-2 win with Albert Guðmundsson opening the scoring before a late Fortini strike seals the deal. It’s probably going to be pretty ugly for the neutral with a lot of kick-and-rush tactics between two teams that aren’t great at playing through the lines, but I’ll rely on the universe’s unrelenting sense of humor to see the good guys through and put them in great position to make some noise in Europe even as they slip below the surface in Italy without a trace.
Forza Viola!
