Empoli vs Lazio Predictions

It’s been far from a strong start to the season for Lazio, who are 16th after the opening three games of the season. They seem to be suffering a hangover from their dramatic end to last season, when they missed out on the top four. Their last day defeat to Inter Milan has made an impact on the Aquile, and it’s hampering their hopes of a top four push this season, too. Meanwhile, Empoli are flying high after returning to Serie A, but can they claim a big scalp in their home clash with the capital side?

Empoli won their opening game of the season 2-0 against Cagliari, but they’ve followed that up with a loss at Genoa and a draw with Chievo. As schedules go, that’s a pretty forgiving opening for the newly promoted side. The Azzurri face their first big side of the season on Sunday evening, with the Aquile not presenting a serious threat at this early stage. Can Empoli build on a great start and claim a huge win, or are we going to see Simone Inzaghi’s men finally start their Champions League push?

The visitors do have a Europa League clash with Apollon coming up next week, but all of their focus will be on this encounter with Empoli after the manner of their Serie A start. They lost their opening clashes to Napoli and Juventus – last season’s top two. While there’s not much shame in that, the Aquile then narrowly beat Frosinone last time out, so they’re not really looking like themselves so far. Can they return to their strong form from last season by racking up the goals at Empoli?

The visitors were the highest scoring side in Italy last term, with some really entertaining away matches along the way. Rarely was a trip for Lazio a dull affair last season, with over 2.5 goals landing in 89% of their away trips. They still lack plenty of talent going forward, while they’re meeting an Empoli side who reinvented themselves as an attacking outfit in Serie B last term. That means we’re going to see goal threat from the visitors, but they could potentially leave a few openings.

We think over 2.5 goals is the best bet for Sunday’s clash at the Carlo Castellani, with Lazio in need of a big win to reboot their season. We’re going with at least three goals to be scored in this encounter, alongside a 2-1 away win.