AS Roma vs Empoli prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-02-03 17:00.
In his typical inimitable style, JosƩ Mourinho made his Roma players pose for a dressing room photo after a 2-1 Serie A (SA) loss to Napoli last Sunday that halted a six-game unbeaten league run (W3, D3). Yet the mood in the camp could hardly have become more sombre after the Giallorossi crashed out of the Coppa Italia quarter-final with a 2-1 home loss against Cremonese on Wednesday.
The hurt can be assuaged a bit with a win here that would provisionally move them into the top three, and as far as omens go, the Giallorossi couldnāt have chosen a better opponent than Empoli to get back to winning ways. Roma have never lost a SA home H2H (W12, D2), and following consecutive home league wins with a clean sheet, they could win three such games in a row for the first time since May 2019.
Despite their poor H2H record, Empoli might fancy their chances here whilst carrying a six-game unbeaten league run (W3, D3), which is their best such streak since March 2015 (eight). What would be an historic win for the club would also move them closer to the top six, although questions remain over their scoring ability that has landed just 19 league goals, with only four clubs scoring fewer before this round.
Those problems havenāt hampered their recent away form (W1, D2) and after halting a nine-game SA losing streak against Inter Milan on their last road trip, Empoli are likely to travel confidently. It could prove to be a busy game for the referee, though, as three of Empoliās last four away SA games have seen the red card on display!
Key battle: Romaās Stephan El Shaarawy has scored in consecutive league games and has been directly involved in four goals (G3, A1) across five top-flight H2Hs. Stopping him could test Guglielmo Vicarioās ability, with the Empoli ākeeper conceding eight goals from his last three H2Hs.
Hot streak: Romaās last five league games have seen exactly one first-half goal scored.