On Monday, Empoli will travel to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to face Genoa, in the teams’ first meeting in the 2014/15 season.
This is also the first home match for Genoa since massive flooding affected the city and surrounding area.
The flooding, which caused at least one reported death, has devastated the region and forced the Rossoblu to cancel a friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk earlier in the week. However, Monday’s game is still scheduled to go on as planned, as the stadium itself is not considered to have experienced serious damage.
Since their promotion into Serie A, Empoli has been enjoying a decent comeback. Sitting two points behind Genoa, a win for the visiting team could move them into the top half of the table.
Empoli’s modest success can be contributed to a few factors, including a relatively easy start to the season. Their two toughest matches have been against Roma and AC Milan; while the Romans beat Empoli 1-0, the Rossoneri were not as lucky and the match resulted in a surprise 2-2 draw.
Individual player performance is also a contributing factor to success. For example, midfielder Mirko Valdifiori is currently tied with Lazio’s Antonio Candreva for most assists of the season – both with two. Manuel Pucciarelli is also a notable mention, with an impressive three goals under his belt.
To put this in perspective, the current Serie A top goal scorer – Juventus’ Carlos Tevez – has only six goals, comparatively.
Other than injured defender Vincent Laurini, Empoli will be playing with a full and able squad. However, that does not mean that Genoa should be written off before the match even begins.
The whole city of Genoa will be rallying around the home team, as the squad is has promised to help in flood relief efforts.
On the pitch, Genoa is almost equally match with the away team; striker Alessandro Matri is tied with Pucciarelli’s three goal haul and defender Giovanni Marchese is one assist short of tying Valdifiori’s assist number.
Unfortunately for the Rossoblu, the team also holds another record – worst discipline – with defender Facundo Roncaglia earning two red cards – twice getting two yellows – in just four games played. He is thus suspended for the upcoming match.
Expected Starting XIs
Genoa (3-4-3): Perin, Burdisso, De Maio, Antonini; Antonelli, Bertolacci, Rincon, Edenilson; Perotti, Matri, Kucka
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Sepe, Mario Rui, Rugani, Tonelli, Hysaj; Cross, Valdifiori, Vecino; Verdi; Maccarone, Pucciarelli
