Real Madrid face Fiorentina test as new-look squad begins pre-season

Real Madrid begin their pre-season programme against ACF Fiorentina in Austria on Saturday, with the Spanish club’s summer rebuild set to face its first real examination. The match is scheduled for 1 August 2026 at 16:00 GMT at the Worthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, where both sides will assess their progress before competitive football begins later in the month.

Nasser Eddy, a consultant for NCI Sport and presenter of the European Champions League on Radio Nostalgie, has provided his analysis and predictions for the game.

Real Madrid enter the fixture with significant pressure after two trophyless seasons that have fallen well below the standards expected at the club. President Florentino Perez has responded by pursuing an ambitious recruitment drive designed to restore the side to title-winning contention.

Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries are among the players reported to have joined the club, while speculation continues to link Real Madrid with Rodri and Yan Diomande. The squad is being assembled under Jose Mourinho, whose arrival is expected to add experience, intensity and character to the team.

However, there is still uncertainty over how the new-look group will perform together. This will be Real Madrid’s first match of the pre-season, while several of their leading attacking players are expected to be unavailable. Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr have either only just returned from their holidays or remain on leave following their international commitments.

Real Madrid have also developed a reputation for producing goals, regardless of which side scores them. They recorded only one goalless draw last season, a 0-0 result against Rayo Vallecano in November. Their opening fixture of a campaign has ended in defeat or a draw in one of the past three seasons, although they won their most recent season opener a year ago.

Fiorentina’s objectives are different. The club finished 15th in Serie A last season and are attempting to recover the more respected status they held in previous years. Their work in the transfer market has included the signing of 20-year-old Spanish left-back Victor Valdepenas from Real Madrid for 8m euros.

That move followed the arrival of promising Ivory Coast midfielder Chris Inao Oulai, while Alex Jimenez, Arthur Atta and Radu Dragusin have also joined the club. Early indications from pre-season have been encouraging, with Fiorentina recording two wins and one defeat from three matches.

The Viola kept two clean sheets during that sequence, including Wednesday’s 1-0 victory against Watford. They have also shown a tendency to find the net late in the first half: three of their four pre-season goals have been scored during the final 15 minutes before the interval.

Chris Inao Oulai will be one of the players attracting particular interest. Regarded as one of the biggest emerging talents in Ivorian football, he enjoyed an outstanding season with Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig before establishing himself with the Cote d’Ivoire national team.

He played at the Africa Cup of Nations in January and at the recent World Cup, and has now chosen Fiorentina as the next step in his career. The midfielder previously came through JAC Angre in Abidjan and is aiming to succeed in Serie A after several Ivorian players experienced difficult spells at the Italian club.

Real Madrid and Fiorentina have met only twice in their history, with Real winning both encounters. The first came in the 1957 European Cup final, now known as the UEFA Champions League, when Real Madrid secured what became their second of 15 titles in the competition. The sides met again in August 2017 for the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy, which has not been held since 2018. Real Madrid won those matches 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.

Despite Real Madrid’s superior status, Fiorentina are being backed by the analysis because of the Spanish club’s unfinished squad, the expected absence of their main attacking players and the Italians’ positive start to pre-season. A Fiorentina victory is priced at 5.64.

Both teams are expected to score, with that outcome priced at 1.46. Fiorentina scoring during the final 15 minutes of the first half is available at 2.05.

The fixture is listed in the preview as taking place on Saturday, 1 August 2026, at 16:00 GMT. A closing fixture note gives the date as 1 July 2026. The match will be played at the Worthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria.

Odds are subject to change.