Watford is a town situated right on the border between North London and Hertfordshire, along the banks of the river Colne. It is here that Fiorentina will face the town’s football club, known as the Hornets, tomorrow at 20:30 CEST, in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.

Alessio Dionisi is in charge of the English side, embarking on his first stint abroad. He was appointed this summer to bring stability and a clear identity to a club coming off a difficult season, in which they finished 16^th in the Championship. Former Viola midfielder Edoardo Bove currently plies his trade at Watford, a player who is fondly remembered by the Italian club. Dionisi has also brought in another figure who is well-known to the Fiorentina fanbase: Luca Vigiani, who made his Serie A debut for Fiorentina back in 1995.

In terms of his tactics, while he has traditionally favoured a back four, Dionisi experimented with a 3-5-2 formation in two of the team's early pre-season outings - a 2-1 loss to Boreham Wood and a 2-2 draw with Barnet - before reverting to a 4-3-3 in his side’s 3-0 victory over Rostock. Regardless of the formation deployed, his philosophy remains the same: dynamic, proactive football in which rapid forward passes to exploit runs by the wide players, a focus on spatial awareness and a high press to win back possession immediately are the cornerstones of his approach.

Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers and based at the historic Vicarage Road stadium since 1922, the club considers its true, historic rival to be Luton Town, from neighbouring Bedfordshire, rather than a London team, despite falling within the confines of the capital’s wider metropolitan area. The Hornets enjoyed their golden era in the 1980s under the chairmanship of Sir Elton John and the management of Graham Taylor. This peaked with a second-place league finish in the 1982/83 season - an even more impressive feat considering the team had just been promoted to the English top flight - and an FA Cup final appearance in 1984.

In June 2012, the club came under the ownership of the Pozzo family, who also own Udinese. Watford recently enjoyed a five-year stint in the Premier League, culminating in an appearance in the 2019 FA Cup final, where they were beaten 6–0 by Manchester City.