January 4, 2025. 4:00 p.m. Venice. “Penzo”
Serie A, Matchday 19
Injuries: Chornyho, Dombia, Duncan, Raimondo, Svoboda – Solbakken, Fazzini, Brancolini, Ebuhe, Zharkovski, Sazonov, Haas, Pellegri.
Venice vs Empoli: Bookmaker odds
Venice
Despite Philip Stankovich’s saved penalty against Romelu Lukaku and several decisive saves, Venice ultimately suffered a 0-1 defeat in their first match after Christmas last weekend. Napoli scored the decisive goal in the final minutes, ending Venice’s three-game unbeaten run and leaving Eusebio Di Francesco’s side in the bottom three of Serie A at the end of the year.
When they meet Empoli, Venice have the chance to achieve back-to-back home wins in Serie A for the first time since January 2000. Do you know who was managing the Winged Lions back then? The current coach of the Italian national team, Luciano Spalletti.
“Empoli are somewhat similar to us. Before this match we are facing squad problems, especially in midfield. But I don’t want to hear any excuses,” Di Francesco noted.
Empoli
Having suffered two defeats and drawn two in their last four Serie A matches, Empoli are keen to finally end their winless run. The 1-2 defeat against Genoa at the Carlo Castellani Stadium last week marked the Tuscan side’s third consecutive defeat, leaving them in 12th place in the table, just five points from the relegation zone. Once again, Empoli showed that they perform significantly worse at home than away.
“We have analyzed the mistakes we make every week in order to turn these performances into positive results. These three defeats push us to approach tomorrow’s match with even more determination and the desire to obtain a favorable result. We are not ready not too much focus on playing nicely; our goal is to be more efficient Therefore, I appreciate the compliments about our game. In the last matches we created many scoring opportunities,” said D’Aversa. .
Venice vs Empoli: Projected Lineups
Venice vs Empoli: Author’s prediction
Venice suddenly “came alive” and gained confidence thanks to a series of positive results. Empoli, on the other hand, are struggling to find motivation, having spent a lot of time in mid-table without pressing tournament goals. I now have the feeling that the Tuscans will only start getting results once they feel the threat of relegation. Therefore, in this meeting, I give the advantage to the locals.
