Empoli vs Napoli Prediction and Football Tips
Serie A football tips – Empoli vs Napoli prediction
Empoli will have to do without defender Lorenzo Tonelli, who missing through suspension. This will be a blow for Empoli, as Tonelli has been playing well this season. Tiberio Guarente is out with injury but Simone Verdi could make a comeback and should make the bench.
The good news for Napoli, is that full-back Christian Maggio has served his suspension and will return to the back four. Jonathan de Guzman and Juan Zuniga are still missing through injury but Rafael Benitez has plenty of options to choose from in attack.
Probable Line-ups
Empoli: 4-3-1-2 formation: Sepi; Rui, Barba, Rugani, Hysaj; Croce, Valdifiori, Vecino; Saponara; Pucciarelli, Maccarone
Napoli: 4-2-3-1 formation: Andujar; Maggio, Britos, Albiol, Ghoulam; Lopez, Jorginho; Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain
- Empoli have won 2, drawn 6 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Napoli have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Empoli have scored an average of 1.3 goals and conceded an average of 1.4 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Napoli have scored an average of 1.7 goals and conceded an average of 1 goal per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Empoli’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Napoli’s previous 10 matches
- Napoli have failed to defeat Empoli in their last 7 attempts
With an 11 point gap between themselves and Cagliari in 18th place, Empoli are safe for another season of Serie A football next season. A run of 12 games with only 2 defeats, shows that Empoli can compete in the majority of matches in Serie A and will give Napoli a good run for their money in this one.
Napoli’s win over Sampdoria at the weekend propelled them to within just 2 points off Roma and the third Champions League spot. They have hit a good run of form at the right time, winning 4 and drawing 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. With their last fixtures against Juventus and Lazio, Benitez will know that his team can not afford to drop points here.
However, despite the loss of Lorenzo Tonelli at the back, Empoli could do enough to secure a point from this game and dent Napoli’s Champions League qualification hopes.
We say: Draw and both teams to score at 7/2 with Bet365
What are your Serie A predictions and football tips?