Serie A | Gameweek 6

Sep 29, 2024 at 5pm UK

Stadio Carlo Castellani

Empoli vs Fiorentina

Match preview

Empoli are on a roll! They've won two and drawn three of their first five Serie A matches, and are unbeaten for the first time ever. They've also made it through to the next round of the Coppa Italia.

Two of those draws were against Bologna and Juventus, who both qualified for the Champions League last season. The Azzurri also beat Roma in the capital, and last week they won in Sardinia against Cagliari.

Lorenzo Colombo got Empoli off to a flying start with a goal, and fellow loan striker Sebastiano Esposito finally ended his long top-flight goal drought to seal a 2-0 win that took Empoli onto an impressive tally of nine points.

And there was more. Roberto D'Aversa took his in-form side to Turin in midweek, where they met another unbeaten team, Torino.

The visitors came out on top in a close cup tie on Tuesday evening, with Nicolas Haas scoring a late winning goal that sets up a last-16 clash against Fiorentina.

This Sunday's game will be the third time Empoli have faced Fiorentina in Serie A with more points on the board than their regional rivals. Fans will be hoping their dream start doesn't end abruptly in the derby.

Fiorentina have only won one of their last six Serie A away games against Empoli, and that was way back in November 2016. They know they've got a tough task ahead of them at Stadio Carlo Castellani.

On top of making it through the Conference League playoffs last month, the Viola had only picked up three points ahead of last week's game against Lazio. This is the first time in five years that they've failed to win any of their first four Serie A games.

New boss Raffaele Palladino was pleased that summer signing Albert Gudmundsson was back to full fitness. The Icelandic striker coolly converted two penalties – the latter during second-half stoppage time – to secure a 2-1 success.

After five matchdays, Fiorentina are in 13th place in the table, and they're keen to keep up the momentum by beating Empoli. They've got a Conference League opener against Welsh outsiders The New Saints next week, so they'll be looking to make sure they're in good shape for that.

The Viola have had a mixed start to their Serie A campaign, drawing one game and losing one away from home. Palladino will be keen to avoid failing to win any of his first three, which would make him the first Fiorentina coach to do so since Vincenzo Montella some 12 years ago.

Recent Performance

Empoli Serie A form:DWDDW

Empoli form (all competitions):DWDDWW

Fiorentina Serie A form:DDDLW

Fiorentina form (all competitions):DDWDLW

Injuries and suspensions

Empoli

27 S. Zurkowski

1 S. Perisan

16 L. Belardinelli

93 Y. Maleh

10 J. Fazzini

24 T. Ebuehi

15 S. Sazonov

Fiorentina

5 M. Pongracic

8 R. Mandragora

Possible starting lineups

Empoli(3-4-2-1)

23Vásquez(GK)

34Ismajli(DC)

2Goglichidze(DC)

21Viti(DC)

11Gyasi(DMR)

3Pezzella(DML)

5Grassi(MC)

8Anjorin(MC)

29Colombo(AMC)

6Henderson(AMC)

99Esposito(FW)

Fiorentina(3-4-2-1)

43Gea(GK)

28Quarta(DC)

3Biraghi(DC)

15Comuzzo(DC)

2Dodô(DMR)

21Gosens(DML)

8Mandragora(MC)

32Cataldi(MC)

4Bove(AMC)

23Colpani(AMC)

20Kean(FW)