Juventus vs Empoli

Juventus’ pursuit of Serie A glory continues at the Allianz Stadium as they encounter relegation-threatened Empoli in a routine-looking assignment.

Juventus took advantage of Inter Milan’s absence due to their Supercoppa Italiana duties to go one point clear at the Serie A summit with a scintillating 3-0 victory at Lecce last weekend. With Inter’s game taking place tomorrow, extending an impressive seven-match winning streak in all competitions would temporarily extend the cushion to four points. After celebrating his 300th Serie A win as a manager, Massimiliano Allegri will expect nothing less from his side, especially considering their superb form in Turin this season. Indeed, the record-time Italian champions have racked up an eye-catching 11 victories in their 13 competitive home outings in 2023/24 (D2), winning the last five in a row by an aggregate score of 15-1. Moreover, they’ve emerged victorious in nine of the ten top-flight H2Hs against Empoli they’ve hosted in the 21st century (L1).

In the meantime, Szymon Zurkowski’s first Serie A hat-trick inspired Empoli to a crucial 3-0 home win against mid-table Monza on Davide Nicola’s touchline debut last weekend, curtailing Gli Azzurri’s dreadful run of eight consecutive winless league games beforehand (D3, L5). Keen to prove it wasn’t a one-off, the visitors take this trip looking to avenge a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture, safe in the knowledge they’ve won twice in their last five Serie A clashes against Juventus (L3). However, Empoli’s wayward four-game winless streak on the road (D2, L2) can’t inspire much confidence. Neither can the fact they’ve averaged a meager 0.5 goals per game during that stretch. If it’s any consolation, they’ve conceded under 1.5 goals in four of their last five away league matches.