Frosinone host struggling Empoli in Monday's round 11 Serie A clash at the Stadio Benito Stirpe.
Eusebio Di Francesco's men will still wonder how they blew a healthy lead in the 4-3 loss at Cagliari last weekend, while the visitors seek to add to the meagre goal return that remains the lowest in the competition.
Match preview
Frosinone set an unwanted Serie A record in round 10 by becoming the first team to lose a 3-0 lead in the final 20 minutes after Sunday's 4-3 loss against Claudio Ranieri's men.
A Matias Soule brace and Marco Brescianini strike seemed set to land Cagliari a seventh defeat in the competition, only for Gaetano Oristanio to score a 72nd-minute goal that began the dramatic turnaround.
Di Francesco's men lost the seven-goal thriller between the newly promoted clubs, thus falling to consecutive losses to stay 12th in the top flight.
Despite the disappointment in round 10, a home fixture bodes well for the Canaries, who have claimed three victories and a draw in four matches in front of their supporters.
That ranks as the seventh-best home record in Serie A, and a continuation could be in the offing for a side keen to respond to last weekend's collapse.
As for the visitors, losing heavily at Atalanta was no surprise, given Empoli's inability to score consistently in the league this term and their defensive weakness.
No team has netted fewer than the Blues' three goals, while only Salernitana (20) and Cagliari (21) went into round 11 with worse statistical records defensively than the Tuscany outfit (19).
Despite facing issues at both ends of the pitch, Aurelio Andreazzoli seeks to mastermind the club's third victory of the season, likely to take them out of the division's bottom three.
The Azzurri's two victories have come whenever they have found the back of the net — 1-0 against Salernitana and a shock 2-0 triumph at Fiorentina — and the club from Florence seek a similar outcome on Monday.
Those two goals in the derby win over the Viola ended a three-game away losing run in which 12 goals were conceded, a statistic that does not augur well for Empoli before the trip to Frosinone.
Team News
The hosts have several injured players heading into Monday's game, with Francesco Gelli, Abdou Harroui, Sergio Kalaj, Giuseppe Caso, Marvin Cuni and Soufiane Bidaoui not expected to participate.
Soule, who netted a brace in the defeat at Cagliari, has scored in consecutive home games against Fiorentina (1-1) and Hellas Verona (2-1 win), and the Juventus loanee seeks a third in round 11.
Youssef Maleh is suspended for Empoli after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 3-0 loss to Atalanta.
Giuseppe Pezzella and Mattia Destro are ruled out, while Tommaso Baldanzi's participation is touch-and-go.
Frosinone possible starting lineup:
Turati; Oyono, Romagnoli, Okoli, Marchizza; Mazzitelli, Barrenechea; Soule, Reinier, Baez; Cheddira
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Berisha; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Cacace; Marin, Grassi, Fazzini; Cambiaghi, Caputo, Cancellieri
We say: Frosinone 2-0 Empoli
Despite a recent shock win at Fiorentina, Empoli are unexpected to lay a finger on Frosinone, whose record at home points to a routine victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
