The Stadio Carlo Castellani will hold the Serie A match between hosts Empoli against visitors Inter on Wednesday 21th of September at 20:45 CET.
Hosts Empoli seem to have found some form after a start of season marked by consecutive losses. However, newcomer coach Giovanni Martusciello would probably have preferred to have faced any team but the high-flying Nerazzurri to continue building on the budding shoots of a positive run. Having said that, an over-confident Inter is never invincible, as clearly demonstrated in the Hapoel Be’er-Sheva game, and more importantly, this Inter has struggled against compact teams that look for the counter. With the ever dangerous Riccardo Saponara and the veteran Massimo Maccarone in the side, Empoli will always pose a threat to Inter on the break.
Inter will travel to Tuscany in very high spirits after the domination of champions Juventus on Sunday. Frank de Boer has however clearly stated in every post-Juventus and pre-Empoli interview that the Derby D’Italia win is now in the past and all focus must be on delivering the same level of intensity and performance against Empoli. Accordingly it will be interesting to see how FdB lines up the team’s tactics, and how he will try and unlock the probably compact and deep Empoli defences. A high intensity pressing approach will be expected, but with Ever Banega suspended, expect the flanks to be the main route in delivering the final ball into the box.
Team News
The rumour mill surrounding the Nerazzurri camp will be turning trying to guess how FdB will replace the suspended Ever Banega. Switching from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 seems the most probable option with Geoffrey Kondogbia stepping into the midfield trio, giving both he and Joao Mario the freedom to alternate in attack participation while pinning Gary Medel firmly in front of the defence.
The other news is the availability of Cristian Ansaldi as well as Gabriel Barbosa to the coach, and whether either player will feature as part of the starting eleven, if at all.
Probable Inter line-up (subject to change): (4-3-3) Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Santon; Medel, Kondogbia, Mario; Candreva, Perisic, Icardi (C).
Stats
Last Season: Empoli 0 – 1 Inter
Last 10 Head to Head: in their last ten league games, the Nerazzurri have managed to beat the Tuscan side on eight occasions, whereas Empoli have managed to register just one win.
Player to Watch:
Mauro Icardi: All eyes will yet again be on the young Argentinean Capitano. Maurito’s impact on Inter’s previous two results was fundamental and the squad will be looking at him to lead from the front. If Icardi’s passing and set-up play as demonstrated by his assist to Ivan Perisic and the pass to Antonio Candreva is a sign of what is to come, expect him to play a far bigger role than just poacher hereon.
Officials
Referee: Marco Guida Assistants: Marrazzo, Tasso Fourth Official: Valeriani Additional Assistants: Fabbri, Abisso
Prediction & Authors Note
Prediction & scorers: Empoli 1 – 3 Inter with Joao Mario, Perisic and Icardi finding the back of the net.
Author’s Note: Inter have neither kept a single clean sheet so far this season nor have they broken the deadlock once, while Empoli have struggled to find the back of the net. Needless to say, it will be very interesting to see if de Boer can finally break the former two statistics or whether Empoli will continue Inter’s imperfect defensive record.
Words: Mohamed Nassar – Follow him @MNassar