Empoli is one of the contenders for relegation to the second division. Paolo Zanetti’s side have only managed 32 points in 32 matches, five points clear of the relegation zone. They approach the upcoming meeting with a series of 3 defeats in a row, including from outsider – Cremonese (0: 1), which says a lot.
From a jocular point of view, the Blues are among the worst in Serie A. They are last in the allowed expected threat (xTA = 1.67) and in terms of created (xT = 1.17) they were only able to surpass Lecce (xT = 1.12) and Salernitan (xT=1.05).
Bologna really opened up in the second half of the season and is taking points away from even the top clubs. In the last 10 rounds, she lost only twice, which allowed her to climb to the 8th position in the tournament table. However, the Red-Blues are unlikely to fight for higher places. They don’t have flashy offense (xg = 1.1) and their defense is not great (xga = 1.32).
It is worth noting that Thiago Motta’s shields often fail defensively. Away, they won just 37.7% of the points and conceded 70% of the goals.
Empoli is more motivated and should keep pushing. I suppose he will be able to get Bologna’s goals scored, but the quality of his play in front of his own goals will not allow him to leave the pitch without conceding goals.