Juventus will look to continue their unbeaten start to the Serie A when they travel to Empoli. Juve has amassed four points from its opening two Serie A games. Their opposition has failed to score after two straight losses.
Preview (Empoli vs. Juventus)
Dusan Vlahovic’s equalizer in the 80th minute came on one of Juve’s three efforts that were on goal. It prevented the Rossoblu from earning a rare victory over their Bianconeri opponents. Juventus has watched in silence as its competitors learned their fates in various European group-stage draws. Now Allegri returns to his native Tuscany in an effort to continue Juve’s remarkable road performance. They have earned nine points from their last four Serie A road trips.
The Bianconeri’s first opponents following the international break will be Lazio. They are last season’s runners-up and a possible top-four challenger this season. Empoli has already won two of the clubs’ past four league encounters – as many as in the first 24. After a sensational 4-1 home defeat over Juventus in late May. Goals have been harder to come by for Paolo Zanetti’s Azzurri since then. They failed to score on the final day of a 2022–23 season that concluded in mid-table safety. They have also failed to score in both of their August games.
Empoli lost 2-0 to Monza last Saturday and are still looking for their first points of the new season. They exited the Coppa Italia to second-tier Cittadella and lost to Hellas Verona on the opening day. The Tuscan club hasn’t lost three games in a row to open a Serie A season since 2005. They’ll obviously be anxious to avoid that this time around. Eight of Empoli’s ten league victories from last season occurred at the Castellani. Its supporters have a legitimate reason to believe that the Azzurri can challenge Juve on Sunday.
Team News
Every game since Max Allegri returned to Juventus for a second, less successful stint as head coach, he has started a different lineup. Only long-term absence Mattia De Sciglio is still out this week as first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has recovered from an injury and is prepared to take Mattia Perin’s position. Due to the departure of former captain Leonardo Bonucci to Union Berlin, Juve’s back three may once again consist entirely of Brazilian players. In contrast, Adrien Rabiot starts in central midfield and has previously been directly responsible for four league goals against Empoli, the most of any player against any other team.
For the first time since Paulo Dybala did it for the Bianconeri six years ago, upfront, Dusan Vlahovic will try to score in his first three Serie A outings of the season. Mattia Destro, a recent addition to Empoli, may play in the front row while Samuele Perisan and Etrit Berisha compete for the goalkeeper’s gloves because Elia Caprile won’t be available until October. Daniel Maldini, a Milan loanee who is another forward option for Paolo Zanetti, is not available due to a muscle issue. Empoli’s squad has been strengthened by a late transfer flurry, but they could yet fall just short on Sunday, prolonging their search for their first point of the year. Juventus possesses the necessary firepower to defeat their opponents and finish strong before the international break.
Empoli 0 – 1 Juventus
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