Udinese will travel to the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Wednesday to face Empoli as both teams are looking for a win to turn their fortunes around.
The Azzurri come into the game on their own winless streak, after two draws against AC Milan and Chievo and the gargantuan defeat at the Stadio San Paolo against Napoli. Their league position, nonetheless, is more than satisfying, as they stand ninth, a mere six points away from Europa League spots.
The Friulani are thirsty for points as they stand 15th in the Serie A table. After their draw against Lazio in the last match, Stefano Colantuono’s side are winless in four consecutive matches, following three defeats against Palermo, Juventus and Carpi.
Udinese lost the last clash between the two sides, when Empoli triumphed coming back after Duvan Zapata’s opened the scoring with two goals by Leandro Paredes and Massimo Maccarone.
Last year’s match at the Stadio Carlo Castellani also finished 2-1 for the visitors, with the Friulani stealing the victory. The scorers in that match were Antonio Di Natale, Riccardo Saponara and Silvan Widmer.
Colantuono will also have to solve a defensive enigma as the bans of Danilo and Molla Wague will leave Felipe and Thomas Heurtaux as starters alongside Ivan Piris. Midfielder Emil Hallfredsson should be in the line for his Bianconeri debut.
On the Empoli side, defender Andrea Costa is trying to recover from his injury to be among the starters; Michele Camporese is ready to take his place. There should not be any other change from the Napoli feature, as the midfield will be composed of Daniele Croce, Paredes and Piotr Zielinski.
Form Guide: Empoli (L-W-D-D-L) Udinese (W-L-L-L-D)
Expected Starting XI:
Empoli: Skorupski, Laurini, Tonelli, Camporese, Mario Rui, Zielinski, Paredes, Croce, Saponara, Pucciarelli, Maccarone.
Udinese: Karnezis, Heurtaux, Felipe, Piris, Widmer, Badu, Lodi, Hallfredsson, Edenilson, Zapata, Thereau.
