At 15 pm at the Carlo Castellani stadium Empoli and Udinese will challenge, after the 1-1 first leg. Out of 24 direct matches between 1993 and today there have been nine victories for Udinese, seven for Empoli and eight draws. In Serie A Empoli comes from two defeats, 2-1 against Monza and 0-2 against Napoli, and a draw, 1-1 in the Tuscan derby with Fiorentina. In the standings he is fourteenth with 28 points with 13 games to play. Seven points behind Juventus and Bologna in seventh position, a placement that could guarantee access to the Conference League, if one of the top six in the league wins the Italian Cup or an Italian wins one of the three European cups. Ten points behind Verona, third last and in the relegation zone. In the challenge against the Friulians, coach Paolo Zanetti could focus on an attacking trident composed of Tommaso Baldanzi, Martin Satriano and Francesco Caputo. The situation regarding Guglielmo Vicario, who had suffered a strong contusion to his side in the Monza finish, has yet to be defined. On Wednesday the goalkeeper missed training with the spring, but fortunately he did not suffer fractures and this afternoon he could return to the formation.
Here UdineseUdinese comes from two draws, 0-0 with Atalanta and 2-2 against Spezia, and a defeat, 3-1 with Inter. Tenth in the standings with 32 points, it is only three behind seventh position and 14 from third last. The race to access the European cups is still open, although it will take a bit of luck to be able to overcome Juventus and Bologna. Against Empoli, the Bianconeri will find themselves with an extra defender. The club announced that it "has signed the footballer Marvin Zeegelaar. The Dutchman has signed a contract until the end of the current season and is going to integrate the back department available to Mr. Andrea Sottil". Zeegelaar's is actually a return: "For him this is the fifth season in Juventus, in the previous four he has totaled 66 appearances between the league and the Italian Cup scoring a goal". The Sottil team prepared for the trip to Empoli with a training session behind closed doors. Ehizibue returns after the stop session on the previous day. Ebosse and Deulofeu are injured. None of the players are disqualified but four are wary: Perez, Pereyra, Walace and Udogie. Pereyra himself could be chosen as a right winger in midfield. Samardzic and Arslan are favourites as midfield interiors, while Lovric could start from the bench. In attack probable the pair Success-Beto that had already been seen against Atalanta. Probable an insertion of the French Thauvin in the race in progress.
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Carlo Castellani Stadium, Empoli
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