Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Coppa Italia match.
Sunday's match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan (0:0) was interrupted due to Edoardo Bove losing consciousness, which could have been a significant psychological blow for the Florentine side. Fortunately, the player is recovering, and his teammates are motivated to make a strong showing against Empoli in the cup fixture.
Fiorentina
In the 17 minutes of play against Inter Milan, Fiorentina managed to generate 0.14 xG with three shots on the reigning Serie A champions' goal. They are on a three-game winning streak, having secured 11 wins in 13 matches since 22 September. Recently, they claimed another victory over Cyprus’ Pafos (3:2) in the Conference League, despite fielding a reserve team—Christian Kouamé and Lucas Martínezeach found the net. In the Italian championship, Fiorentina have accumulated 23.84 xG over 13 games, ranking fifth in the tournament.
Empoli
After a promising start to the campaign, Empoli are gradually sliding towards the bottom of the Serie A table. A setback against AC Milan (0:3) left them in 10th place, five points clear of the relegation zone. At the San Siro, Empoli allowed 2.23 xGA with 20 shots against them, hampered by the absence of injured players (Mattia De Sciglio, Tyronne Ebuehi, Alberto Grassi, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov, and Szymon Żurkowski).
Fiorentina vs Empoli Prediction
At the end of September, Fiorentina failed to secure a win against Empoli away (0:0), but in Florence, the rested favourites should claim victory. Our pick is for a win for Fiorentina with a handicap of -1.
