Monza vs Empoli prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-08-25 16:30.
Monza lost 2-0 to Inter Milan in their Serie A (SA) season opener which came on the back of a Coppa Italia defeat to Serie B outfit Reggiana (2-1), meaning they are now winless in four competitive matches, their worst such run since top-flight promotion in August 2022. Perhaps aware of the challenge ahead, manager Raffaele Palladino has been clear in his goals for Monza this season, stating surviving relegation would spark celebratory scenes, “even if it’s on the last day of the season.”
A return to Stadio Brianteo mightn’t prove the remedy to their current problems, particularly given the blunt nature of their attacking displays in front of their fans last season. Only six SA sides netted fewer home points (26), but they did win 2-1 against Empoli here in March which was part of a mildly impressive seven-game run (W3, D2, L2) to end their home campaign, perhaps raising hopes of better performances ahead.
Empoli, will also be eager to bounce back from a defeat of their own on opening weekend, as they were edged out 1-0 by Verona. The last time they lost their opening two rounds of a campaign was in 2016/17, a season in which they ominously went on to be relegated. Another red flag with regards to the drop could be that they’ve finished 18th in their third campaign on each of the previous two occasions they contested a third successive top-flight season, just like this one.
Despite the Verona defeat making it three competitive losses on the spin for Empoli, coach Paolo Zanetti was keen to focus on the positives post-game, stating he saw signs of a “good match” overall. Translating those performances into points doesn’t look like it’ll be easy to achieve here given they ended last season winless in nine-game away games (D4, L5).
Players to watch: Gianluca Caprari assisted the winning strike in Monza’s 2-1 win in this fixture last season and also has three goals in eight SA H2Hs. Empoli’s new signing Emmanuel Gyasi will hope for better luck at his new club having lost his two previous SA H2Hs 2-0 whilst at Spezia.
Hot stat: Empoli have scored exactly once in six of their last eight SA away games and in each of their three away league H2Hs.