Empoli will be looking to record their seventh Serie A victory of the 2021-22 campaign when they welcome Udinese to Stadio Carlo Castellani on Monday evening.
The home side are currently 11th in the table, having picked up 20 points from their opening 15 matches of the season, while Udinese sit 14th with 16 points to show from their first 15 games.
Match preview
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Empoli have won six, drawn two and lost seven of their 15 Serie A matches this season to collect 20 points, which has left them in 11th position in the table, just five points off fifth-placed Roma.
Gli Azzurri, who were promoted back to this level as Serie B champions last term, are 10 points clear of the relegation zone at this stage, which represents an excellent start to the campaign.
Aurelio Andreazzoli's side have been in encouraging form of late, losing just one of their last five in the league, while they have picked up four points from their last two matches against Fiorentina and Torino.
Empoli have four more Serie A matches before the winter break, taking on Udinese, Napoli, Spezia and AC Milan, and it will be fascinating to see where they are in the early stages of 2022.
The Blues have actually won two of their last three Serie A clashes with Udinese, including the last two meetings between the two sides at Stadio Carlo Castellani.
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Udinese, meanwhile, played out an eight-goal thriller with Lazio on Thursday evening; the visitors led 2-0 and 3-1 in Rome but then needed a 99th-minute leveller from Tolgay Arslan to secure a point in a stunning finish.
Luca Gotti's side have won three, drawn seven and lost five of their 15 league matches this season to collect 16 points, which has left them in 14th position in the table.
Udinese finished fourth, third and fifth in Serie A between 2011 and 2013 but have been a bottom-half team in Italy's top flight over the last eight seasons.
Le Zebrette have actually only won once in the league since September 12, which came at home to Sassuolo on November 7, but they have shared the points in their last two games with Genoa and Lazio.
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Team News
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Empoli's squad is in excellent shape at the moment in terms of injuries, with the hosts expected to have a full selection available for Monday's contest on home soil.
Head coach Andreazzoli could still decide to make a couple of alterations from the side that started against Torino on Thursday, though, with Fabiano Parisi and Nedim Bajrami potentially coming into the XI.
Andrea Pinamonti is the team's leading scorer in Serie A this season with five, and the 22-year-old will again feature in the final third of the field.
As for Udinese, Roberto Pereyra and Rodrigo Becao will miss the contest through injury, while Nahuel Molina and Walace are suspended due to their red cards against Lazio.
There will be changes from the side that started the eight-goal contest on Thursday, with Arslan, Ignacio Pussetto and Brandon Soppy all expected to come into the XI.
Beto and Gerard Deulofeu have scored nine league goals between them this season, and the pair are again expected to feature in the final third of the field for the visitors.
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Stojanovic, Romagnoli, Luperto, Parisi; Haas, Ricci, Henderson; Bajrami; Pinamonti, Di Francesco
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Perez, Samir, Nuytinck, Udogie; Soppy, Arslan, Makengo, Deulofeu; Pussetto, Beto
We say: Empoli 1-1 Udinese
Both teams will believe that they can hurt the other in the final third of the field, and it should be an open and entertaining contest at Stadio Carlo Castellani. A case can be made for either side to win, but we are backing a low-scoring draw on Monday night.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Empoli win with a probability of 51.31%. A win for Udinese had a probability of 26.01% and a draw had a probability of 22.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Empoli win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.19%) and 2-0 (7.61%). The likeliest Udinese win was 1-2 (6.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.35%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Empoli would win this match.
