Empoli vs AC Milan

Stadio Carlo Castellani is the venue as Empoli and AC Milan go head-to-head in their last Serie A match-up in 2021.

Empoli head into proceedings amid a purple patch, having avoided defeat in their last five Serie A matches in a row (W3, D2) since falling 2-1 at Hellas Verona in mid-November. ‘Gli Azzurri’ have shown a tremendous character of late, coming back from behind to avoid defeat in the last four Serie A games when conceding the opening goal (W2, D2). Indeed, they’ve racked up back-to-back Serie A home victories in the build-up to this fixture and could make it three home wins in a row in the competition for the first time since December 2018. Unfortunately, they are up against a Milan side they’ve defeated just once in their last nine top-flight H2Hs (D4, L4) while they’ve yet to beat them at home in Serie A in the 21st century (D5, L4).

On the other hand, AC Milan suffered a 1-0 heartbreak to Napoli at the weekend in a match highlighted by the VAR’s controversial decision to rule out Franck Kessie’s last-gasp equalizer. As a result, ‘I Rossoneri’ have gone from consecutive Serie A victories to back-to-back league games without winning (D1, L1), falling behind within 20 minutes of play on each occasion. On the bright side, though, the seven-time European champions have only lost one of their last 21 Serie A encounters against newly-promoted sides (W15, D5). There’s a piece of history for the taking, as Milan could become only the second club in Serie A history to record 17+ top-flight wins away from home across a single calendar year. Scoring first will be of the essence, as Stefano Pioli’s men have failed to win any of the three league travels when conceding the opener this term (D2, L1).