Empoli vs. Juventus: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
While there may have been a touch of disappointment to accompany Juventus' midweek draw with Borussia Monchengladbach, the Bianconeri have a chance to return to winning ways when they visit Empoli on Sunday.
Despite those dropped points in the Champions League, Massimiliano Allegri’s men won their last domestic outing in some style, the coach looking on as his side grabbed a late derby win against Torino.
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Sitting in mid-table, the reigning Serie A titleholders know they need to take all three points against the Tuscan outfit at the Stadio Carlo Castellani and appear confident despite some poor results.
“People don’t look at how we’ve lost, but at the results, that’s what counts. I’m always calm,” Allegri told Mediaset recently (h/t Football Italia). “I’m not going to change my thinking because of a week or a month. We’ve had issues with our start, and with luck a little bit, like in the derby where we were unlucky like in previous games in conceding from the first shot.”
Indeed, the latter point highlights a major issue for the Bianconeri, one also identified by the statisticians at Opta and highlighted in the tweet below.
Previously a major strength, the Juventus defence has struggled this term, keeping just three clean sheets in Serie A thus far. Facing an Empoli side they defeated 2-0 both home and away last term, the Bianconeri will be need to be wary of an opponent on a three-match unbeaten run of their own.
After notching a solid victory away to Palermo in their last outing, Marco Giampaolo will hope his players can cause an upset and add to Juve’s poor run of results on Sunday afternoon.
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2015
Time: 2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET
Venue: Stadio Carlo Castellani, Empoli
TV Info: beIN Sports 3 (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Connect (UK)
Form Lines
Last five domestic results
Probable Formations
Empoli: (4-3-1-2): Lukasz Skorupski; Vincent Laurini, Lorenzo Tonelli, Andrea Costa, Mario Rui; Piotr Zielinski, Raffaele Maiello, Marcel Buchel; Riccardo Saponara; Manuel Pucciarelli, Marko Livaja.
Unavailable: Uros Cosic, Kastriot Dermaku and Daniele Croce (all injured).
Juventus (4-3-3): Gigi Buffon; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Stefano Sturaro, Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba; Juan Cuadrado, Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala.
Unavailable: Kwadwo Asamoah, Sami Khedira and Roberto Pereyra (all injured).
Player to Watch
While Juventus have plenty of stars in midfield, perhaps the man to keep a close eye on during this match is Empoli’s Riccardo Saponara. It was his free-kick that clinched all three points for the Azzurri against Palermo, and he has been at their heart of all their positive play this term.
The 23-year-old left the club back in 2013 after drawing the attention of AC Milan, but he returned in January after being denied a chance to showcase his undeniable talent at San Siro.
Empoli are clearly benefitting from that decision, with Saponara having contributed four goals and three assists already this term. Juventus will need to monitor him closely throughout the game.
Key Battle
If Saponara is the danger man for Empoli, then there is little doubt Juan Cuadrado is quickly establishing himself as the main threat in the Juventus attack after joining on loan from Chelsea in the summer.
His speed and skill on the right flank have tormented opponents ever since, and his injury-time goal clinched that vital derby win for the Bianconeri, although he was quick to praise his team-mates after the match.
“The truth is that we fought hard to the end and when you work this hard, the results do come,” Cuadrado told Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia). “This victory helps, it fires us up more to do well and in our minds the objective is to continue this march to close on the Scudetto places.”
The Colombian has also added two assists, and the task of slowing him down on Sunday will fall to Mario Rui. The former Benfica defender has been in fine form himself this term, with statistics, courtesy of WhoScored.com, showing he has averaged 1.9 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game.
He will need to be at his best to prevent Cuadrado from delivering another decisive performance, and their matchup could well be key in determining the final result here.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Away win: 100-149
Home win: 17-4
Draw: 13-5
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