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Preview: Empoli vs. Salernitana - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 26 September 2023, 01:05
Bottom-of-the-table Empoli welcome fellow strugglers Salernitana to the Stadio Carlo Castellani for a Serie A clash on Wednesday evening.

The hosts remain pointless and goalless after yet another defeat in their fifth fixture of the league season over the weekend.

Match preview

Despite a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan, there was notable improvement in the Empoli performance under new manager Aurelio Andreazzoli though.

The Empoli boss is back for a fourth spell in charge, replacing Paolo Zanetti, who was sacked after their 7-0 thrashing in the capital against Roma two weeks ago.

Only a wonder strike from Inter wing-back Federico Dimarco could separate the sides currently top and bottom of Serie A on Sunday, but it now means they have not scored against the Nerazzurri in their last nine home encounters.

The result also keeps them at the foot of the table, becoming the first side in Serie A history to lose their first five games without scoring.

Under Zanetti, Empoli also lost their final game of last season without scoring too, against Lazio, while they were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Cittadella before the start of the league season - making it seven defeats on the spin.

Despite having three tough games in succession, against Juventus, Roma and Inter, Empoli look a shadow of the side which beat the Old Lady 4-1 as recently as March.

Their next three games, starting with Salernitana here, before facing Bologna and Udinese, all look kind on paper, and they need results from somewhere before they become cut adrift.

Empoli do have a good recent record against Salernitana though, taking eight points from the four games they have played since the two clubs were promoted together in 2021.

Salernitana are also winless so far this season, but are just outside the relegation zone in 17th thanks to three draws in their opening five games.

Taking points off Roma and Udinese was impressive on paper, and they were glad to end a two-game losing streak by sharing the spoils with Frosinone at the weekend.

Those two defeats saw Paulo Sousa's side draw consecutive blanks, but they were back on the scoring trail thanks to Jovane Cabral's strike which earned them a point against their newly-promoted opponents.

With Inter to come at the weekend though, Sousa will really hope his side can arrest a run of 11 away matches without victory, as another defeat especially could see them slip into the bottom three before the visit of the league leaders.

Empoli Serie A form:

Empoli form (all competitions):

L

L

L

L

L

L

Salernitana Serie A form:

Salernitana form (all competitions):

W

D

D

L

L

D

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Team News

An injury to Francesco Caputo is doing Empoli no favours in the offensive areas of the pitch.

The 36-year-old scored five league goals and set up another four when joining in January, but he missed the clash with Inter at the weekend.

Goalkeeper Etrit Berisha has never conceded a goal in three previous appearances against Salernitana, but Empoli have not kept a clean sheet in their last 14 outings.

Ardian Ismajli went off shortly before Inter's opener on Sunday is a doubt, while Daniel Maldini and Elia Caprile are also both expected to miss out.

While Empoli are without Caputo, Salernitana are missing an even greater threat, with last season's 16-goal man Boulaye Dia still sidelined.

The Senegalese forward has missed the last few games, leaving the goalscoring mantle to wide players such as Cabral and Antonio Candreva.

Lassana Coulibaly is the other injury absentee manager Sousa will have to contend with here.

Empoli possible starting lineup:

Berisha; Ebuehi, Walukiewicz, Luperto, Pezzella; Marin, Ranocchia, Maleh, Baldanzi; Shpendi, Cambiaghi

Salernitana possible starting lineup:

Ochoa; Lovato, Gyomber, Pirola; Mazzocchi, Legowski, Maggiore, Bradaric; Kastanos, Jovane Cabral, Candreva

We say: Empoli 0-0 Salernitana

Despite there having been 28 goals across the last seven head-to-heads, neither side has shown much offensive threat in the early stage of the season.

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