Udinese vs Empoli prediction, preview, team news and more | Serie A 2023-24
The Bluenergy Stadium plays host to a tense Serie A battle as Udinese and Empoli go head-to-head in a relegation six-pointer on Sunday. Both sides are in a six-way battle for survival and head into the weekend separated by just one point at the bottom end of the table.
Udinese picked up a huge win in what has been an underwhelming league campaign as they edged out Lecce 2-0 at the Via del Mare last Monday.
Before that, Fabio Cannavaro’s men were on an eight-game winless run across all competitions, losing five and claiming three draws since mid-March.
Udinese have picked up 33 points from 36 games to sit 15th in the Serie A table, one point and three places above Sunday’s visitors in the final relegation spot.
Meanwhile, Empoli’s survival bid took another blow last time out when they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Davide Nicola’s side have now failed to win their last three matches, picking up one point from a possible nine since April’s stunning 1-0 victory over Napoli.
While Empoli will be looking to find their feet and move out of the danger zone, they have lost their last five away matches, conceding eight goals and failing to find the back of the net since February’s 3-2 win at Sassuolo.
Udinese vs Empoli Head-To-Head
With 11 wins from the last 24 meetings between the sides, Udinese boasts a superior record in the history of this fixture. Empoli have picked up six wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on seven occasions.
Udinese Form Guide: W-D-D-L-L
Empoli Form Guide: L-D-L-W-L
Udinese vs Empoli Team News
Udinese
Cannavaro will be unable to call upon several players down the spine of the team as they continue their spells on the sidelines.
Injured: Marco Silvestri, Florian Thauvin, Sandi Lovric, Vivaldo, Gerard Deulofeu
Suspended: None
Empoli
Tyronne Ebuehi and Gabriele Guarino have been ruled out through ACL and muscle injuries respectively and will sit out this weekend’s showdown.
Injured: Tyronne Ebuehi, Gabriele Guarino
Suspended: None
Udinese vs Empoli Predicted XI
Udinese Predicted XI (3-5-2): Maduka Okoye; Nehuén Pérez, Jaka Bijol, Thomas Kristensen; Kingsley Ehizibue, Walace, Martín Payero, Hassane Kamara; Lazar Samardzic, Roberto Pereyra, Lorenzo Lucca
Empoli Predicted XI (3-5-2): Elia Caprile; Bartosz Bereszynski, Ardian Ismajli, Sebastiano Luperto; Emanuel Gyasi, Simone Bastoni, Răzvan Marin, Youssef Maleh, Giuseppe Pezzella; Francesco Caputo, Nicolò Cambiaghi
Udinese vs Empoli Prediction
Udinese and Empoli know their survival hopes hinge on Sunday’s results as they find themselves in the danger zone after what has been an underwhelming campaign.
We predict Udinese will pick up where they left off at Lecce and claim a narrow victory in front of their home supporters.
Prediction: Udinese 2-1 Empoli