Inter Milan vs Empoli

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza forms the backdrop for a lopsided Serie A showdown between table-topping Inter Milan and relegation-threatened Empoli.

Inter Milan went into the international break in frustration after exiting the Champions League on the back of a 13-game winning run before conceding late in a 1-1 draw against reigning Serie A holders Napoli. Despite that setback and Milan’s win at Fiorentina last weekend, ‘I Nerazzurri’ are on the verge of landing a landmark 20th Serie A title, knowing a win against minnows Empoli would re-establish their 14-point cushion at the table’s summit. All signs point in that direction, with Simone Inzaghi’s side boasting a formidable 20-game H2H record against the Tuscan outsiders (W17, D1, L2). They’ve bagged an average of two goals per game during that stretch, though the reverse fixture yielded a narrow 1-0 victory. Replicating that feat would still be enough for Inter to equal the record for scoring in each of the first 30 games of a Serie A season.

On the other hand, Davide Nicola’s eye-catching start to life at Empoli, featuring six unbeaten matches (W3, D3), came to a crashing halt on the stroke of the international break, with Gli Azzurri losing three successive outings via an identical 1-0 scoreline. Stranded just one point clear of the bottom three, the visitors head into this encounter bereft of confidence after drawing a blank in ten of their last 15 Serie A meetings with Inter (W1, D1, L13). Moreover, scoring woes have plagued Empoli’s season in 2023/24 as they lament the division’s lowest haul of 22 goals. If it’s any consolation, they’ve tallied the majority (59%) of those strikes on the road, suggesting they could get on the scoresheet for the third time on their last four top-flight visits to Giuseppe Meazza.