Empoli vs Inter Milan

Stadio Carlo Castellani is the venue as bottom-half Empoli and out-of-sorts Inter Milan go head-to-head in a high-stakes Serie A encounter.

Empoli’s hopes of securing a first top-half finish in Serie A since 2015/16 have faded after an underwhelming run of one win in their last 11 league matches (D4, L6) left them eight points adrift of tenth-placed Udinese. Scoring has been an issue for Paolo Zanetti’s side, as they’ve drawn a blank in four of their last eight Serie A outings, netting precisely once in the remaining four. After back-to-back scoring blanks in the build-up to this encounter, ‘Gli Azzurri’ could fail to score in three consecutive top-flight games for the first time since 2017. That’s a likely scenario, considering they haven’t found the net in their last seven home meetings with Inter in Serie A (D1, L6), though a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in January suggests they could flip the script this weekend.

In the meantime, visiting Inter Milan shared the spoils with Benfica in a goal-glutted 3-3 draw in midweek Champions League action, qualifying for the semi-finals for the first time since 2010 as 5-3 aggregate winners. However, the visitors’ bid to secure a sixth straight top-four finish in Serie A is hanging by a thread after Juventus’ sentence suspension. Simone Inzaghi’s men start this round in sixth, five points adrift of fourth-placed Roma, on the back of a dreadful run of four defeats in their last five league games (D1). Indeed, since a 2-1 triumph at rock-bottom Cremonese in January, ‘I Nerazzurri’ have gone winless on their last four Serie A travels (D2, L2), netting an average of only 0.5 goals per match.