At Stadio Carlo Castellani on Saturday, mid-table rivals Empoli and Sassuolo, who were both defeated by one of Serie A’s top two last weekend, will try to avenge their losses.
The hosts have lost their last 2 matches without scoring, while the Emilian opponents had won three of their previous five games prior to falling to Napoli at the Stadio Maradona.
Empoli was five points clear of the Serie A drop zone going into the 12th round of matches last week, despite suffering a 4-0 loss to Juventus a fortnight prior. Their only losses since August have come against Roma, Milan, and Juve.
Atalanta, another top-six contender, was in excellent form when they faced the Azzurri, and they once again lost, as the visitors won 2-0 at Stadio Castellani.
Empoli’s coach Paolo Zanetti will be eager to stop his team’s decline, especially given that they will once again have home advantage this weekend. The last time Empoli lost three consecutive top-flight games was at the end of 2018.
Despite having lost their most recent home match against Sassuolo in January, they have the advantage in terms of precedent, if not current form, thanks to a record of three victories from five home Serie A games against the Neroverdi.
Making the most of the home games against Sassuolo and Cremonese will be Zanetti’s top priority because the Tuscans’ final away match before World Cup is at Napoli’s Stadio Maradona, where Saturday’s guests were defeated last week.
Having struggled to establish himself at the club after a rocky start to the season, the former Venezia manager now finds himself in the same dugout as one of his predecessors at Castellani.
During the 2020–21 season, Alessio Dionisi guided Empoli back to the top of the Italian league, averaging 1.92 points per game in Serie B, the second-best mark in club history.
The devastation of his attacking department has made it difficult for Roberto De Zerbi’s successor to replicate the overachievements of recent years since he defected for Sassuolo.
The Neroverdi have scored 14 goals in Serie A thus far, which is their lowest total after the first 12 games since 2017. This follows last week’s 4-0 loss to Napoli.
Sassuolo’s front line has taken on a haphazard appearance since losing Gianluca Scamacca and Giancomo Raspadori in the summer, and injuries have forced Domenico Berardi and Hamed Traore to miss time as well. Former Empoli loanee Andrea Pinamonti has yet to find his shooting form since moving to Reggio-Emilia.
However, the visitors are still only one point back of the top half of Serie A, and they will host Roma before travelling to Bologna to round out this unusual season. However, a trip to Tuscany must come first.
Filippo Bandinelli, the captain of Empoli, should play in midfield for the visitors, who will probably start Martin Satriano and Mattia Destro up front after recently extending his contract with the club until 2025.
However, given that the Azzurri have gone more than 200 minutes without a goal, other players like young Nicolo Cambiaghi and Dutch striker Sam Lammers may also be considered. Alberto Grassi and Lorenzo Tonelli’s injuries may prevent Paolo Zanetti from playing them again, and Koni De Winter, a Juventus loanee, also poses a risk. Ardian Ismajli would rejoin the back four in the latter’s absence.
Andrea Pinamonti of Sassuolo had his best Serie A scoring season while on loan at Empoli last season, but he has been slower to get going since joining from Inter on another short-term deal in the summer. At this point last year, he had scored four goals, two more than in the current campaign.
Although Alessio Dionisi continues to struggle in the final third, he is almost certain to start when he rejoins the Castellani because Armand Lauriente must serve a suspension and veteran players Domenico Berardi and Gregoire Defrel are still out injured.
Therefore, there are several candidates to assist Pinamonti up front, including Hamed Traore, Emil Konradsen Ceide, and promising adolescent Luca D’Andrea.
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Stojanovic, Ismajli, Luperto, Parisi; Haas, Marin, Bandinelli; Bajrami; Satriano, Mattia Destro
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Erlic, Ferrari, Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Thorstvedt; D’Andrea, Andrea Pinamonti, Ceide
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Atalanta vs Napoli : Match preview and possible lineups
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