Fiorentina vs Empoli Match Analysis and Prediction

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Fiorentina will welcome Empoli to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for their Serie A encounter on Sunday, as they seek to remain in the hunt to qualify for European competition.

Both sides played out 1-1 draws in their most recent matches prior to the international break, with the hosts securing a point against Inter Milan while Empoli shared the spoils with Hellas Verona.

The hopes for qualifying for Europe for the first time in five years still remain is sight for Fiorentina, and a point secured against title challengers Inter Milan last time out could prove to be a valuable in weeks to come.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side have picked up 11 points from their last six matches and they are now sitting eighth in the Serie A standings, four points adrift of sixth-placed Roma in the Europa Conference League spot with a game in hand.

I Viola have put up some good performances on home soil over the last few months, winning eight and drawing two of their last 11 games at the Stadio Artemo Franchi, scoring at least three goals on six of the occasions, although most of these goals during this run were scored by Dusan Vlahovic who moved to Juventus in January.

Meanwhile, Empoli’s winless league run was extended to 13 matches when they played out a 1-1 draw at home against Verona on March 20.

After being promoted to the Serie A as Serie B champions last season, Gli Azzurri will have been delighted to be sitting ninth in Serie A and only four points adrift of the European places in mid-December.

However, their fortunes have since turned for the worst and a winless run in the first three months of 2022 has seen them slip down to 13th in the table, 18 points behind the top six.

Fiorentina vs Empoli head to head

The two teams have previously met on 21 occasions across all competitions, where Fiorentina have taken 12 victories while Empoli have won five, and they have drawn in four. Fiorentina have scored 37 goals and conceded 21. In their last five encounters, Empoli have won three while Fiorentina have won twice.

Empoli 0-4 Fiorentina 20/11/16

Fiorentia 1-2 Empoli 15/04/17

Fiorentina 3-1 Empoli 16/12/18

Empoli 1-0 Fiorentina 05/05/19

Empoli 2-1 Fiorentina 27/11/21

Fiorentina latest home form

Fiorentina have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They suffered a 1-0 defeat against Juventus in the Coppa Italia on March 2. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded five.

Fiorentina 0-3 Lazio 05/02/22

Fiorentina 1-0 Atalanta 20/02/22

Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus 02/03/22

Fiorentina 1-1 Verona 06/03/22

Fiorentina 1-0 Bologna 13/03/22

Fiorentina latest away form

Fiorentina have recently been on a relatively good form on the road, as they have lost just one of their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat Atalanta 3-2 in the Coppa Italia on February 10. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded seven.

Cagliari 1-1 Fiorentina 23/01/22

Atalanta 2-3 Fiorentina 10/02/22

Spezia 1-2 Fiorentina 14/02/22

Sassuolo 2-1 Fiorentina 26/02/22

Inter Milan 1-1 Fiorentina 19/03/22

Empoli latest home form

Empoli have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having been winless in their six most recent matches. In their last home game, they picked up a 1-1 draw against Verona in the league. In their last five matches they have scored seven goals and conceded 14.

Empoli 1-5 Sassuolo 09/01/22

Empoli 2-4 Roma 23/01/22

Empoli 1-1 Cagliari 13/02/22

Empoli 2-3 Juventus 26/02/22

Empoli 1-1 Verona 20/03/22

Empoli latest away form

Empoli have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their last eight matches. They lost 3-2 to Inter Milan after extra time in the Coppa Italia on January 19. In their last five matches, they have scored two goals and conceded six.

Inter Milan (E)3-2 Empoli 19/01/22

Bologna 0-0 Empoli 06/02/22

Sampdoria 2-0 Empoli 10/02/22

Genoa 0-0 Empoli 06/03/22

AC Milan 1-0 Empoli 12/03/22

Fiorentina news

Fiorentina’s only injury issue is with midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura, who is set to remain sidelined for the next few weeks with a bruised knee.

Jose Callejon, Arthur Cabral, Riccardo Sottil and Jonathan Ikone began as substitutes in the last game, and will all be hoping to start in the Sunday’s contest.

Empoli news

Fabiano Parisi picked up his fifth yellow card of the season last time out and will now serve a one-game suspension, with Liberato Cacace the most likely candidate to replace him at left-back.

Top scorer Pinamonti is expected to start again as the central striker ahead of Patrick Cutrone on Sunday.

Prediction and Odds

Although Empoli have been struggling to secure victories recently, they have managed to overcome their opponents in their two most recent meetings, and will want to replicate that performance here.

Both sides enter the contest with a clean bill of health and it will likely end in a draw or home win.

Odds: 1 2.15 X 2.05 2 2.30