While the capital club is 90 minutes from finishing as “best of the rest” behind Scudetto-winners Napoli, their 14th-placed hosts have already assured a third straight season of top-flight football by winning three of their last five matches.
Team News
Empoli
- Empoli are expected to retain Atalanta loanee Roberto Piccoli up front, with veteran striker Francesco Caputo perhaps starting on the bench after recovering from the illness that kept him sidelined last week. On 21 goals, Caputo lies third in the Azzurri’s all-time scoring list in Serie A, having found the net three times in his last three appearances – as many goals as in his previous 33 league games.
- Koni De Winter (knee), Tyronne Ebuehi (collarbone) and Razvan Marin (calf) are all ruled out for the hosts due to injury, while Jacopo Fazzini continues to deputise for fellow young gun Tommaso Baldanzi, who is on international duty with Italy’s Under-20s.
- Meanwhile, Fabiano Parisi and Filippo Bandinelli return from suspension, and both should slot straight back into Paolo Zanetti’s first XI.
Lazio
- Preferring continuity as Lazio seek a third straight win to conclude their campaign, Maurizio Sarri is set to name a similar side to that which fought back for a 3-2 win over Cremonese.
- However, Felipe Anderson could unseat Pedro on the right wing; completing a familiar attacking trident along with Mattia Zaccagni and captain Ciro Immobile.
- Danilo Cataldi returns from injury in time for the trip to Tuscany, leaving Adam Marusic as the only player unavailable to Sarri on Saturday.
- Despite Cataldi’s comeback, Matias Vecino is still set to start in midfield, joining Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has been directly involved in more Serie A strikes than any other midfielder this season (17 – nine of his own and eight assists). The latter needs just one more goal to reach double figures for a third time in the Italian top flight.
Possible lineup
Empoli:
Vicario; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Parisi; Akpa Akpro, Bandinelli, Grassi; Fazzini; Cambiaghi, Piccoli
Lazio:
Provedel; Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Milinkovic-Savic, Vecino, Alberto; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni
Prediction Analysis
Lazio have only lost four times on the road this term, so there is every chance of the Aquile soaring to victory in Empoli – which is no mean feat, given the hosts’ recent results there: Sarri’s side can score from several sources and also boast the second-best defensive record in Serie A.
Our prediction is Empoli 1-2 Lazio