The Serie A Matchday 26 encounter between Empoli and Atalanta will take place on February 23 at the Carlo Castellani Stadium. Empoli vs. Atalanta: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Empoli
Roberto D'Aversa's side couldn't put up any resistance against Udinese in their last away match, suffering a 0-3 defeat. As a result, Empoli extended their winless streak in the league to ten matches, which includes eight losses and two draws. Additionally, this was the fourth time this season that the team has lost by a large margin. In the standings, Empoli is perilously close to the relegation zone, sitting in 17th place with 21 points. It's worth noting that Empoli has scored only five goals at home this season, the worst record in the league.
- The team has not won 11 of their last 12 home matches in Serie A (5 draws, 6 losses).
- The players have not scored more than one goal in their last 12 home league matches.
- Empoli has conceded exactly one or two goals in 5 of their last 6 home games in Serie A.
Predicted lineup for Empoli (3-5-2)
Davide Vázquez – Saba Goglichidze, Mattia De Sciglio, Liberato Cacace – Emmanuel Gyasi, Alberto Grassi, Youssef Maleh, Liam Henderson, Giuseppe Pezzella – Christian Kouamé, Lorenzo Colombo.
Defenders Mattia Viti and Tyronne Ebuehi, midfielders Jacopo Fazzini, Tino Anjorin, and Nicolas Haas, as well as forward Ola Solbakken, will miss the match due to injuries. Defender Luca Marianucci is suspended.
Atalanta
In the previous round, Gian Piero Gasperini's team dropped points against Cagliari at home, ending in a 0-0 draw. Consequently, Atalanta has failed to win six of their last eight league matches (5 draws, 1 loss). Furthermore, this was only the third time this season that Atalanta failed to score. The team has accumulated 51 points and remains in third place in the standings. Notably, Atalanta boasts a high scoring rate, with 54 goals this season, second only to Inter's 58.
- The team has not lost in their last ten away matches in Serie A (7 wins, 3 draws).
- At least one of the opponents failed to score in 6 of Atalanta's last 9 away league matches.
- Atalanta has conceded a maximum of one goal in their last ten away matches in Serie A.
Predicted lineup for Atalanta (3-4-2-1)
Marco Carnesecchi – Isak Hien, Rafael Toloi, Stefan Posch – Juan Cuadrado, Ibrahim Sulemana, Marco Brescianini, Matteo Ruggeri – Lazar Samardzic, Mario Pasalic – Mateo Retegui.
Defenders Isak Hien, Giorgio Scalvini, and Odilon Kossounou, as well as forwards Daniel Maldini and Gianluca Scamacca, will miss the game due to injuries.
Referee
Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Matches – 12 (Serie A, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 46;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.8;
Red cards shown – 2;
Average fouls per match – 26;
Penalties – 17%.
Empoli vs. Atalanta: Match Prediction
In this season's championship, Roberto D'Aversa's side has been unimpressive in terms of scoring. Goals are hard to come by even with the support of their home fans: in 12 home matches this Serie A season, Empoli has never scored more than one goal. Moreover, in seven instances during this run, the team left the field without scoring. However, in eight home matches this season, they have not allowed their opponents to score more than once.
Atalanta, despite spending a lot of time in attack even away from home, hasn't always scored many goals. In their last 12 away Serie A matches, Gian Piero Gasperini's side has only breached the opposition's defense more than twice on three occasions, and in six instances during this period, they have been limited to just one goal. Meanwhile, in their last ten away league matches, Atalanta has not conceded more than one goal, achieving six clean sheets in this span.
Considering the fatigue after Champions League fixtures, I don't expect Atalanta to be very active in attack. And I'm not anticipating a high-scoring game from Empoli either, so my prediction: Total under 3 goals
