Match Preview: Empoli – Verona Prediction and Betting Tips | SERIE A

Empoli – Verona Prediction and Tips for today

Empoli – Verona Prediction and Tips for today, August 31, 2022

Football: ITALY: SERIE A – ROUND 4
Kick-off: 17:30 Empoli – Verona
Tip: Under 3.5 Goals
Odds: 1.38
Bookmaker: Bet365
Match Result: 1:1 WON!!!

Empoli – Verona Prediction and Match Preview

• A frustrating 1-1 draw at Lecce last time out extended Empoli’s winless start to the season to three games, the first time they’ve opened a season at this level with three games winless since 2015/16. Paolo Zanetti’s men aren’t quite at panic stations yet as they haven’t finished higher than that tenth-placed finish six years ago since, and positives can be taken after scoring their first league goal of the campaign during that draw.
• Taking a lead is by no means a guaranteed route to success for Empoli, as that 1-1 stalemate means they’ve now failed to win half of the SA games in which they went ahead since the start of last season (W10, D7, L3). That could yet get worse, as Zanetti has lost all three of his personal H2Hs with Verona, with two of those defeats actually coming despite his side leading at one stage.
• After posting three consecutive top-half finishes in SA since earning promotion, Hellas Verona have made a disappointing start to the 2022/23 campaign with an early elimination from the Coppa Italia compounded by a winless three-game league start (D1, L2). With the loss of key man Antonín Barák to Fiorentina just last week, it may get worse before it gets better for the Mastiffs.
• This is uncharted territory for enigmatic manager Gabriele Cioffi, who has found himself in SA right after managing Crawley in England’s fourth tier! His time at Verona so far has seen Cioffi make his worst-ever start as a manager, contributing to Verona’s longest winless run in over a year (D2, L5), and given that they’ve never won a top-flight H2H at Empoli (D2, L3), they look up against it here yet again.
• Players to watch: Empoli’s Nedim Bajrami scored three decisive goals last term, yet he wasn’t on the winning side in his last four scoring appearances. With all three of their 10+ goal scorers from last season no longer at the club, Verona may look to Kevin Lasagna for an outlet, though he also failed to win any of his last four scoring appearances.
• Hot stat: Both teams have scored in eight of Verona’s last nine games held on a Wednesday (W1, D4, L4).