Tuscany rivals Fiorentina and Empoli lock horns at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday, with just three points separating the teams in the Serie A table.
Twelfth-placed Empoli find themselves above fourteenth-placed Fiorentina, with the latter sitting seven points outside the relegation zone.
That said, both sides will be desperate to return to winning ways in Serie A following a succession of below-par results.
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Fiorentina, who head into Sunday’s showdown on the back of a hugely impressive 4-0 victory at Braga in the Europa Conference League.
Luka Jovic bagged a brace before Arthur Cabral netted a double of his own, while the visitors racked up 13 shots and 61% possession in Portugal.
However, Fiorentina have failed to win any of their previous five league encounters – recording one draw and four losses since their last victory.
Having managed to win just one of their past eight Serie A matches, La Viola will be eager to end their barren spell with a win against their Tuscany rivals.
As for Empoli, they head into Sunday’s clash on a three-game winless run in Serie A, having registered two draws and one loss since their last victory.
Having drawn four of their last seven league games – recording two wins and one defeat in the process – no team has claimed more draws than Empoli’s nine this season.
It is also worth noting that only the bottom four teams have scored fewer goals than Empoli’s 21 this term, although Gli Azzurri do have one of the best defensive records in the bottom half.
Given that Empoli have won just three of their last 22 away league outings, the visitors will struggle to claim all three points this weekend.
Head-to-head: Empoli have only managed to win four of their previous 17 Serie A meetings with Fiorentina, suffering nine defeats along the way.
Given that 12 of the past 17 league matches between Fiorentina and Empoli have produced under 3.5 goals, Sunday’s clash is likely to be a low-scoring affair.
Team news: Fiorentina look set to be without injured midfielder Antonin Barak this weekend, although the rest of squad will be ready for the visit of Empoli.
In terms of the visitors, Fabiano Parisi is suspended after picking up a red card last time out, while Alberto Grassi, Mattia Destro and Lorenzo Tonelli are injured.
With only three points between Fiorentina and Empoli in the Serie A standings, Sunday’s showdown looks destined to be a tight encounter.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Fiorentina and Empoli will play out a low-scoring draw – with both teams netting under 1.5 goals.
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