Fiorentina – Empoli

Fiorentina and Empoli are unlikely to produce a high-scoring encounter

In response to a lot of criticism (not just constructive criticism), Fiorentina successfully began their journey into the Conference League play-offs. "In the first leg, the Fiallas thrashed Braga 0-4. The team scored three times following a sending off, but even before that, they had shown solid football. The next round is all but sealed, and the return leg on 23rd can be regarded as a formality. One of the most important events for the Florentines was keeping their goal intact. Prior to that, the club had conceded for six games and only Sampdoria had not scored in 2023. Vincenzo Italiano also stressed that the team needed more concentration. One match, of course, will not solve the problem, but the first step towards solving this problem has been taken. Moreover, the result in Portugal finally brings the team's under-performing streak to an end. If this game becomes a psychological turning point, the Florentines could well move up the standings. The Vials are currently 14th, but their tight mid-table schedule could well see them climb into the top-ten in the next couple of rounds. That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan. After their sensational win over Inter, Empoli are now three tours away from victory. The team played Torino 2-2, lost to Roma 2-0, and last round shared the points with Spezia with the same 2-2. The team had every chance of losing to the Ligurians as well. In the 21st minute, Parisi was red carded, and at the end of the first half the score was 0-2 in favour of the Eagles. But Salvatore Esposito turned things around in the second half to level the scores. "The Azzurri scored first on 71 minutes and then equalised on 90+4 minutes. An emotional and high-scoring game is not very typical of Paolo Zanetti's team. Throughout the season, Empoli have been renowned for their downbeat performances and ten goals in the past three games is an exception to the rule. It is also worth mentioning the 'low' nature of the recent encounters between the opponents. In the past four games, only once three goals were scored, in other cases no more than one. The first leg was a dry affair. A tired Fiorentina, who are looking to improve their defensive metrics, will face a pragmatic side that is atypical in scoring and conceding too much. What should we expect? Certainly not an abundance of goals.