Despite being based in different leagues and having achieved different results last season, both Fiorentina and Benfica now have a common foe: Ligue 1 champions PSG. Why? Well, Laurent Blanc's men defeated the Águias as well as the Viola in this year's International Champions Cup.
Benfica were painfully close to securing a win after leading throughout the vast majority of the game, but ended up capitulating twice in the last 30 minutes to finish the match 3-2. Fiorentina, on the other hand, were no match for Les Parisiens as they were overpowered 4-2.
So, now, as the Primeira Liga champions take on Serie A's fourth best side last season, both teams will be hoping to redeem themselves by earning their first win. Interestingly, fans of Fiorentina and the Águias now have a new man on the bench as Paulo Sousa has come into replace Vincenzo Montella and Rui Vitoria taking over the reigns from iconic tactician Jorge Jesus.
The duo will be under immense pressure to match the feats of their predecessors, but certainly the weight will be more keenly felt by the latter due to Jorge Jesus's impressive record during his tenure at the Estadio da Luz.
Yet, despite losing his first game since taking over, Benfica's newest coach has apparently opted to take a more sanguine approach, if his post-match comments are anything to go by.
"It was a game of two distinct halves. We played well in the first half [but] in the second, we made several changes and the pace dropped," he noted as per Benfica's official website.
"[This allowed] PSG [to] score [with] the few opportunities they created. [Still], now is the time to observe and to test, [so] it’s too early to speak of a starting eleven".
Given that Rui Vitoria is still getting to know his players, the ICC tournament represents a good chance for Benfica to test their mettle against some of the top European sides as well as give him an idea of who he will prefer to comprise his starting XI once the season gets underway. As per usual, there have been some changes within the team. Experienced defender Maxi Pereira has moved on to arch rivals Porto after a successful eight seasons in Lisbon and winning a slew of trophies in a Benfica shirt.
The Portuguese powerhouse have added some fresh faces, namely QPR's Adel Taarabt, and the Moroccan international will be desperate to impress after having three poor seasons whilst on loan at Fulham and AC Milan as well as in his final year with Queens Park Rangers. Still, given that he did not feature against PSG it will be interesting to see if he is given any game time versus the Viola to gain some fitness before the team's domestic and continental campaigns commence.
Fiorentina have also made some moves during the transfer window, with key defender Stefan Savic departing for La Liga's Atletico Madrid and defensive midfielder Mario Suarez moving in the opposite direction from Diego Simeone's side. This will be the first team outside his native Spain for the 28-year-old, who was part of the team that won the Europa League, one La Liga title, and earned a runners-up medal in the 2014 Champions League final.
In addition, many Serie A fans will also know that Brazilian keeper Neto has opted to make a switch to Juventus. Then, of course, there is the whole drama surrounding Egyptian international Mohamed Salah, with the Viola at one point threatening to take him to court due to his refusal to play for them and he now looks likely to sign for rival team Roma.
Whilst Viola fans will be happy to see Giuseppe Rossi finally return to the pitch after a long and difficult period on the sidelines due to injury with a goal against PSG, they may also have to contend with the departure of German international Mario Gomez to Turkish outfit Besiktas. With yet another player set to depart, Sousa will have to hope that his men can step up their performances as he, too, seeks to figure out who he will be relying on to start as Fiorentina will be competing on two fronts this season.
Last campaign saw them make it to the semi-finals before being dispatched by Europa League kings Sevilla and after finishing in fourth, they will again have a chance to try their luck in Europe's second-tier competition for the 2015/2016 edition.
Both teams and their respective coaches will be using this ICC tune-up to further modify their starting XIs and formations, so it will be interesting to see if they stick with the same line-up that saw them both lose to PSG.
Or, if both men will opt to make some drastic changes given that they would obviously like to show that they have learned from their mistakes by earning their first win in what has been an interesting ICC tournament overall thus far.
Make sure you don't miss out on Portuguese giants Benfica taking on a hungry Fiorentina side later today!
You can bookmark our special Fiorentina vs. Benfica match page for all your viewing information for wherever you are currently based.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
