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Se ci sfidano, finiranno peggio di prima.

Se ci sfidano, finiranno peggio di prima.
If they challenge us, they will end up worse than before.
From Lesson 218:Irregular comparative adverbs (meglio, peggio)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Se ci sfidano, finiranno peggio di prima.

Why does this sentence use peggio instead of peggiore for "worse"?
Peggio is an adverb, meaning it modifies an action (a verb). Here, it describes how they will end up (finiranno). You use the adjective peggiore when describing a noun, like "a worse situation" (una situazione peggiore).
Why do we use di for "than" here, instead of che?
When making comparisons with adverbs of time like prima (before) or dopo (after), Italian uses di for "than". You generally use che when comparing two different verbs or two adjectives describing the exact same subject.
Why is sfidano in the present tense but finiranno in the future tense?
This is a standard conditional sentence about a realistic possibility. In Italian, just like in English, the "if" condition (Se ci sfidano) is often in the present tense, while the predicted result (finiranno peggio...) is in the future tense.
Could ci in this sentence mean "there" instead of "us"?
Not in this context. While ci can mean "there" with verbs of motion or location, the verb sfidare (to challenge) takes a direct object: you challenge someone. So here, ci acts as the direct object pronoun "us".

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