Preview: Empoli-Juventus

Serie A Preview: Empoli-Juventus

What: Serie A - Matchday 29
Who: Empoli (19th, 25 points) vs Juventus (3rd, 54 points)
When: Wednesday 19 March 2008, 20:30 CET
Where: Stadio Castellani, Empoli



Juve Looking For Third Consecutive Win

Following a brief slump in form that saw them get just one point in three games, Claudio Ranieri’s Juventus are back to their best again, as they are coming off two consecutive victories against tough opposition. Last weekend, a late goal by Vincenzo Iaquinta saw them past Napoli, and the week before that they beat Genoa away from home thanks to two first-half goals by Zdenek Grygera and David Trezeguet (2-0).

A Champions League spot for the Bianconeri seems to be already in the bag, as they are eight points ahead of fifth placed Milan. For reasons of rivalry and pride they will also want to finish ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina, who are four points below, but the main issue will be getting into the Champions League.

Overall, it must be said Juve have had a positive season on their return from their first ever season in Serie B. They were never seriously going to fight for the league title, so failing that a place in next season’s Champions League is the highest objective they could aim for. And that seems to be exactly what the team are heading for.

Some people criticised Ranieri following the recent home defeat to Fiorentina (2-3), but the fact is he has been doing a fine job and deserves to be kept on for next season. The Viola have been in great form lately so it’s not a disgrace to lose to them at the moment.

Against Empoli, they will look for their third consecutive victory, and nothing less will be expected against a team who have lost their last four games on the trot.

Empoli In Desperate Situation

Alberto Malesani’s Empoli have had a disheartening slump in form lately, which started after they had impressively won three consecutive games. In mid-February, they beat Lazio (1-0), Napoli (3-1 away from home), and Catania (2-0), which saw them reach 14th place. At that point, there must have been some sort of psychological collapse, as after that they lost their next four games.

Particularly losing at home against Siena (0-2) and last week’s big away defeat to Atalanta (4-1) were shocking results. Their only good performance lately was against Milan, yet they still ended up losing 3-1 thanks to two late goals by the Rossoneri.

Currently the team are in 19th place, but just one point away from the safety zone. In the next few games, against Juve, Roma, and Sampdoria, they will look to limit the damage more than anything, but after that Empoli have a series of “less-difficult” games, at least on paper. It’s still a wide-open relegation battle, which still involves at least eight teams, three of which will end up making the drop to Serie B.

Against Juve, Empoli will hope to play in a similar way as they did against Milan, and they always seem to play better against the big teams. Of course, this time they will have to be more clinical with their chances if they want to have any hope of getting a result here.



FORM GUIDE

Empoli

16/03 (Serie A): Atalanta-Empoli 4-1

09/03 (Serie A): Empoli-Milan 1-3

02/03 (Serie A): Empoli-Siena 0-2

27/02 (Serie A): Palermo-Empoli 2-0

24/02 (Serie A): Empoli-Catania 2-0

Juventus

16/03 (Serie A): Juventus-Napoli 1-0

09/03 (Serie A): Genoa-Juventus 0-2

02/03 (Serie A): Juventus-Fiorentina 2-3

26/02 (Serie A): Juventus-Torino 0-0

23/02 (Serie A): Reggina-Juventus 2-1



TEAM NEWS

Empoli

Levan Mchedlidze, Nicola Pozzi, Andrea Raggi, and Francesco Marianini are all out injured, while Francesco Pratali and Luca Saudati are suspended. The latter was caught elbowing an opponent on TV images last Sunday and has been suspended for the next three matches.

Possible formation (4-4-1-1): Bassi, Buscé, Marzoratti, Piccolo, Antonini; Abate, Marchisio, Budel, Giovinco; Vannucchi; Volpato.

Juventus

Jorge Andrade, Marco Marchionni, and Cristiano Zanetti are all unfit.

Possible formation (4-4-2): Buffon; Zebina, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Grygera; Camoranesi, Sissoko, Tiago, Nedved; Trezeguet, Iaquinta.



PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ighli Vannucchi (Empoli)

The 30-year-old playmaker is one of Empoli’s best and most experienced players. He’s been at the club for the last four years now, and has scored a respectable total of 24 goals during that time. Also scored last weekend against Atalanta, but it turned out to be a pointless consolation goal.

Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)

The Italian international turned out to be a valuable purchase for Juve with eight goals scored so far. The former Udinese striker has scored a number of crucial goals for “La Vecchia Signora”, most recently last weekend in the 88th minute against Napoli. The 28-year-old is a reliable, powerfully built striker, and looks set to participate in his second consecutive tournament with the Azzurri this summer at Euro 2008.



PREDICTION

Empoli might make a fight of it, but Juve will come away with all three points after a hard-fought game.

Empoli-Juventus 1-2

Danilo Pochini

goal.com