SM
Fulham vs. Brentford: 1 hr 38 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
EL
Serie A | Gameweek 19
Jan 7, 2024 at 11.30am UK
Stadio Carlo Castellani
ML

Empoli
0 - 3
AC Milan


Marin (81')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Loftus-Cheek (11'), Giroud (31' pen.), Traore (88')
Calabria (41'), Jimenez (54')

Preview: Empoli vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Empoli vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Serie A clash between Empoli and AC Milan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Having started 2024 with a win, AC Milan aim to continue their upturn in form on Sunday afternoon, when they visit Serie A strugglers Empoli at Stadio Carlo Castellani.

The Rossoneri secured their place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals in midweek, and they now seek to stay on the coat-tails of Italy's top two.


Match preview

Having won four of their last six league matches, following a series of four games without a win, Milan built on their positive end to 2023 by sweeping past Cagliari on Tuesday night.

Under-fire coach Stefano Pioli named an unfamiliar XI for a last-16 Coppa Italia clash with the Sardinian side, in which Luka Jovic's brace was followed by strikes from debutant Chaka Traore and Rafael Leao, and the Rossoneri cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory at San Siro.

After setting up a contest against Lombardy rivals Atalanta BC in next week's quarter-finals, they must now return to Serie A, where they trail city rivals Inter Milan by nine points and second-placed Juventus by seven.

Last Saturday, Pioli's side were under pressure to produce the goods at home to one of their bogey teams, and despite a patchy performance, Christian Pulisic's second-half strike proved enough to beat struggling Sassuolo.

While Milan have not won in four top-flight away matches ahead of this week's trip to Tuscany, they will still arrive in Empoli as strong favourites to prevail, given an incredible run of results at Stadio Castellani down the years.

The Rossoneri have yet to lose a single Serie A fixture at Empoli's headquarters, with eight wins and seven draws from 15 previous visits, so anything less than maximum points will again turn the focus on Pioli.

If Milan's head coach has problems, then Empoli boss Aurelio Andreazzoli is unlikely to have any sympathy, as the veteran tactician is once again toiling at the wrong end of the Serie A standings.

After losing to Lazio and then drawing with relegation rivals Cagliari either side of Christmas, the Azzurri are mired inside the drop zone, only one point above rock-bottom Salernitana.

In fairness to Andreazzoli, their malaise goes back further, to the reign of former manager Paolo Zanetti: across Europe's top five leagues, only Almeria (24) lost more matches than Empoli throughout 2023.

This season, no team have won fewer points from home matches in Italy's top flight (five), and they have recorded the fewest goals as hosts, too (also five). Again, that lack of firepower follows a trend: Empoli failed to score in no less than 23 games last year.

The last Empoli player to score a goal anywhere was Matteo Cancellieri in early December, and aside from an own goal against Lecce the Tuscan team have not found the net since.

Empoli Serie A form:

AC Milan Serie A form:


AC Milan form (all competitions):



Team News

Having made numerous changes for the Coppa tie versus Cagliari - including starts for back-up goalkeeper Antonio Mirante and primavera trio Jan-Carlo Simic, Alex Jimenez and Chaka Traore - Stefano Pioli will select his strongest available side on Sunday.

Though still faced by a long absence list, Pioli can now call upon Matteo Gabbia, who has returned from his loan at Villarreal and may feature in central defence. That would allow Theo Hernandez to revert to his favoured left-back role, having provided cover while Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw and Pierre Kalulu remain sidelined.

However, Ismael Bennacer and Samu Chukwueze have both headed off to Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations, while Tommaso Pobega will not return from a thigh injury until April.

An upturn in form for Luka Jovic has served as a reminder of his potency at Eintracht Frankfurt, but Olivier Giroud is expected to replace the Serbian striker up front. Curiously, Giroud has played more minutes against Empoli without scoring (266) than any other Serie A side.

Meanwhile, the Rossoneri's hosts are also short of several defenders: Empoli will not only be without injured duo Simone Bastoni and Giuseppe Pezzella, but Bartosz Bereszynski is hampered by a thigh problem and first-choice left-back Liberato Cacace must serve a suspension.

Set to see off competition from Milan-owned Daniel Maldini to support Francesco Caputo in attack, Nicolo Cambiaghi has attempted the most shots without scoring in Serie A this season (34). Since netting in three consecutive matches last May, the Atalanta loanee has endured a 21-game goal drought.


Empoli possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Walukiewicz, Luperto; Marin, Grassi, Maleh; Baldanzi; Cambiaghi, Caputo

AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Gabbia, Hernandez; Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud


We say: Empoli 0-2 AC Milan

Everything points to a Milan win at the Castellani, where they have never been beaten in Serie A. With Empoli consistently coming up short in the final third, the Rossoneri should stride to victory and keep within striking distance of both Inter and Juve.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl


body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__532909 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 13:25:12:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 13:25:12 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
AC Milan 'make contact with Barcelona over Clement Lenglet situation'
Was the injury serious? City reveal Sporting squad after Haaland scare
Preview: Real Madrid vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups
Monday's Serie A predictions including Lazio vs. Cagliari
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Napoli118121881025
2Inter Milan1173125131224
3Atalanta BCAtalanta1171329141522
4Fiorentina116412291322
5Juventus115601971221
6Lazio106132213919
7AC Milan105231711617
8Udinese115151416-216
9Bologna103611211115
10Torino114251516-114
11Roma113441214-213
12Hellas VeronaHellas Verona114071624-812
13Empoli1025379-211
14CagliariCagliari10235817-99
15Como102351221-99
16Parma101631416-29
17Monza111551014-48
18VeneziaVenezia112271019-98
19Lecce11227420-168
20Genoa10136721-146
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Hoping for the best: Chelsea star Palmer 'to undergo scan' on knee injury

1

HF

Five Man City players missing from training ahead of Sporting clash

2

FM

Preview: Besiktas vs. Malmo - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

3

PB

Was the injury serious? City reveal Sporting squad after Haaland scare

NEW

4

WT

Mainoo, Maguire return dates: Man United injury, suspension news vs. PAOK

5

MM

Premier League move? Real Madrid 'questioning Vinicius Jr commitment level'

6

PL

Preview: Inter Milan vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PI

Walking a tightrope: Which two Liverpool stars could miss Real Madrid clash?

8

WA

Pictured: Liverpool star returns to training after painful injury

9

PL

Chelsea suffer Osimhen transfer blow as £42m January twist 'revealed'

10

CS


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .