Empoli vs Juventus preview, team news, line-ups and prediction

Juventus continue their 2023/24 Serie A campaign with a trip to Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Sunday evening.

Empoli are in their third consecutive season in the Italian top-flight after back-to-back 14th-placed finishes since gaining promotion back to Italy’s top-flight in 2021.

As usual, their main objective is survival. Like the previous seasons, it is going to be a long campaign for them where they will be largely fighting against relegation.

So far, it has not been a positive start for them. They have suffered two defeats from two games so far, and the Azzurri could end up losing three games in a row as they face Juventus.

Paolo Zanetti’s side are yet to score a goal, losing 1-0 against Hellas Verona in the opening game and then going down 2-0 against Monza last weekend.

They are missing several of their key players still out, and it is hard to see how the home side will be able to get something from this fixture.

Empoli lost goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to Tottenham Hotspur. They also sold 21-year-old defensive midfielder Kristjan Asllani who joined Inter Milan.

Another young left-back, Fabiano Parisi moved to Fiorentina, while attacking midfielder Nedim Bajrami and defensive midfielder Leo Stulac have joined Sassuolo and Palermo respectively.

The Florence based club bolstered their defence by adding Napoli centre-back, Sebastiano Luperto. Left-winger Emmanuel Gyasi has joined from Serie B side Spezia.

Lazio’s young right-winger Matteo Cancellieri has joined on loan. Filippo Ranocchia, 22, has also joined on loan, from Juventus.

The question is – whether the new signings can help them stay in the Serie A as it appears that Empoli are already struggling.

They have been flirting with relegation for some time now, and this could be the season where they crumble under pressure.

Empoli team news 

Empoli are still without their two summer signings this weekend due to injuries with on-loan goalkeeper Elia Caprile and on-loan midfielder Daniel Maldini out of action.

Empoli predicted line-up

Perisan; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Cacace; Haas, Marin; Cancellieri, Baldanzi, Cambiaghi; Caputo

Juventus preview

In Italy, something strange is going on that has made the league competitive. Unlike in England, France, and Germany, where we have a serial title winner, in Italy, there have been four different winners in the past four seasons.

Last season, Juventus should have ideally finished within the top four, but due to financial irregularities, they were docked 10 points. As punishment, Juve can’t even participate in European games this season, and this could be a blessing in disguise for the Bianconerri.

They can focus on rebuilding the side and those with Juventus tickets can start to look forward to the club competing for major honours again over the coming years.

Despite the fact that there have been genuine interest in players like Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, Juventus have managed to keep hold of their star players. If they can add a few more quality players before the end of the window, they can challenge for the Scudetto yet again.

They made a strong start to the new campaign, winning 3-0 against Udinese. After that, they earned a 1-1 draw against Bologna, which has come as a bit of a setback for them. But these are early days in the league, and there will be lots of twists and turns. So, expect Juventus to mount a challenge for the title this season as well.

Dejan Kulusevski enjoyed a brilliant campaign on loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season. The 23-year-old right winger has made the move permanent, and the deal was expected to go through.

Defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League this summer, but he has joined Monaco instead. Young centre-back Radu Dragusin has moved to Genoa, while Arthur Melo has joined Fiorentina on loan.

Juventus release a host of big-name players. Angel di Maria has returned to Benfica, while Juan Cuadrado has joined Inter Milan, both on free transfers.

Allegri has bolstered the midfield by adding Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo. Moise Kean has made the move permanent from Everton after spending two seasons on loan at Juventus. Former Napoli striker Arkaduisz Milik has joined from Marseille, while midfielder Timothy Weah has joined from Lille.

In the final few hours of the transfer window, Juventus are likely to lose veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci who is heading to the Bundesliga to join Union Berlin.

Union, Genoa and Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio were keen to sign him. Bonucci made his decision to move to the Bundesliga instead. It has been reported that no transfer fee will be paid but Union will pay the severance pay to terminate Bonucci’s contract at Juve.

Another player who could leave the club is Filip Kostic. West Ham are one of the admirers of Kostic and it remains to be seen if the Hammers make a move for him in the next 24 hours.

Juventus value Kostic at €15 million for a permanent transfer but they are also open to letting him go out on loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season. Also, it appears that Chiesa will stay in Turin despite interest from a host of clubs. including Liverpool.

He has a contract at the club until 2025, and either he’ll sign an extension or will be allowed to leave next summer. As of now, he stays, unless any club come up with a big-money offer.

While the lack of European football could work in favour of Juventus this season, they have to be very consistent in the league, and probably Allegri will feel that he might need to add a bit of extra quality to the side.

Juventus team news

Max Allegri is likely to make an unchanged starting line-up for their trip to Empoli. The Old Lady will be looking to return to winning ways, and both Chiesa and Vlahovic will be expected to start in a 3-5-2 formation.

Wojciech Szczesny is absent for this game while defender Mattia De Sciglio is also out with a serious knee injury.

Juventus predicted line-up

Perin; Alex Sandro, Bremer, Danilo; Weah, Rabiot, Fagioli, Locatelli, Cambiaso; Vlahovic, Chiesa

Prediction: Juventus only managed a 1-1 draw against Bologna in their previous game. They will be looking to pick up all three points this weekend, and they should get it. Empoli are a decent side but expect the visitors to raise their game and pick up a convincing 3-1 win.