Bologna vs Empoli
2016/17 Italian Serie A.
Date: Sunday, 11 December 2016
Kick-Off: 14:00 UK,
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara (Bologna).
Two struggling sides will scrap for a much needed win as Bologna lock horns with Empoli on Sunday afternoon.
The Rossoblu come into this game having suffered a 1-0 loss to Udinese. Both Bologna and Udinese have had bad campaigns thus far, meaning that every three points are that much more vital in a battle to avoid the drop. Injuries have not helped Bologna, but unfortunately, a team doesn’t get points just for effort. Roberto Donadoni’s side currently sit in 16th spot at the start of this round with 16 points.
They nonetheless do still have a relatively comfortable gap over the bottom three sides, but with just one win in their last five games, they certainly are not exactly thriving, either. It goes without saying that Bologna will be desperate to rebound with a win over another team who have had an awful season.
Empoli’s problem is their attack just can’t seem to score. Up until their tie with Pescara on matchday 11, they had scored just two goals. They tripled that amount by putting four past the hapless Delfini, but then ended up on the wrong end of a 4-0 score-line against Fiorentina in the next round. That was followed up by another huge loss, as AC Milan cruised to a 4-1 win. And they recently ended up losing 3-0 to Sassuolo in a game they really would have wanted to get something out of as the Neroverdi have been quite poor themselves this season.
With Crotone and Pescara set to square off, at least one of those teams will pick up at least a point. Empoli, who sit on ten points, are very uncomfortably close to the bottom three. The Azzurri, then, will be hoping to drag down another side into that unwanted group as they hope to claw their way up the table.
Bologna vs Empoli: Head-to-head statistics
Five out of the last ten meetings between Bologna and Empoli have finished as a draw.
Bologna have won the other three, whilst Empoli won twice.
The Azzurri are unbeaten in their past three Serie A meetings with the Rossoblu (two wins, one draw).
Empoli (17th at start of round 16) have a record of W1 D4 L15 in their past 20 away games against teams ranked above them in the table.
Bologna have netted twice in four out of their last five meetings with Empoli, but the most recent one finished as a scoreless stalemate.
Empoli have failed to score in 10 out of their last 12 Serie A games.
The Azzurri have also won just one out of their last 16 away fixtures.
Bologna have failed to win nine out of their last ten games.
Empoli have conceded at least three goals in their past three games.
Bologna vs Empoli: Prediction
Both sides are having a difficult season and arguably their fans wish they could hit the “reset” button on this term. Empoli have netted just seven goals so far, and four of them were during a huge win over fellow strugglers Pescara. Unfortunately for them, their defense can’t stop shipping goals. The same applies to Bologna. Despite having double the amount of goals (14), they have conceded 22.
This looks like it could result in a draw. The two teams are pretty evenly matched (on paper at least) and their efforts could cancel each other out.
Bologna vs Empoli: Betting tips
Under 2.5 goals at 13/20 (1.65)
Draw at 9/4 (3.25).
