Best odds: 1/1
Bookmaker:
AS Roma are set to welcome Empoli to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday evening, in what will be a game withing the fourth round of the 2023/24 season in the Serie A.
With three rounds played, neither of these teams is currently where they want to be, both sitting in the relegation zone, Roma in 18th with a single point, Empoli at the bottom and yet to move their tally off the starting line.
AS Roma
Things obviously aren t looking good for Jose Mourinho and his team. The controversial Portuguese expert led the Giallorossi to the Europa Conference League glory in the first-ever edition of the competition, as well as the Europa League final last season, but despite those fine achievements, he s likely to find himself under pressure and his job in doubt if the poor run of results goes on for much longer.
The only point Roma have accumulated so far came through a underwhelming 2-2 draw at home against Salernitana, which was followed by an even more disappointing 2-1 defeat away to Hellas Verona. It was a game Mourinho s men dominated and in which they had a numerical advantage on the pitch for the final six minutes plus stoppage time, and they still failed to get anything from it.
AC Milan played with 10 men even longer than that in Roma s latest setback, after Fikayo Tomori earned a red card in the 61st minute at the Olimpico, but the damage was already done with Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao on target for the seven-time European champions. All Roma could do was to find some late consolation, the work of Leonardo Spinazzola in the last moments of the match.
Team News
Mourinho is facing several player absences for the upcoming match. In addition to long-term absentees Tammy Abraham and Marash Kumbulla, he will also have to do without his captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, and there s a possibility that Gianluca Mancini and Renato Sanches may be unavailable for Sunday evening s game.
Both Pellegrini and Mancini sustained injuries while on international duty. In the event that Pellegrini is unavailable, the young Edoardo Bove could step in to fill his role in midfield. Should Mancini be unable to play, Evan Ndicka, who signed in the summer, might make his first start.
Romelu Lukaku is set to make his full debut for the club, and it s worth noting that he has been directly involved in three goals in just 104 minutes of play against Empoli, which is his best ratio against any club in Serie A. If Paulo Dybala isn t included in the starting lineup, Roma has the option to turn to either Stephan El Shaarawy or Andrea Belotti to provide support to Lukaku in the attack.
Empoli
Though the expectations are obviously different for Empoli, whose main aim for the campaign will be to avoid being a part of the relegation battle in May rather than fight for European places, no team would be happy to be in their position at the moment.
Like Roma, Paolo Zanetti s team were beaten by Verona, at home by 0-1. Then they lost 2-0 away to Monza, and eventually 0-2 at home to Juventus. The games against Verona and Monza would have been good opportunities to get something on the scoreboard before facing Juventus, Roma and Inter Milan in a row, but those opportunities are now gone beyond recall and they have to try and do it the hard way, against much stronger opponents.
To be fair, even the most optimistic among the Empoli faithful wouldn t have been too confident about playing against Juventus, and the match in the previous round played out to expectations, with the Bianconeri stamping their authority and taking all the points through goals from Danilo and Federico Chiesa.
Team News
Goalkeeper Elia Caprile s ankle injury is expected to keep him out of action for an additional month, but Zanetti should have the rest of the squad at his disposal.
Empoli have struggled in the attacking third this season, with their veteran striker Francesco Caputo being the only player to find the net in their competitive matches, scoring in the Coppa Italia defeat to Cittadella.
Should Zanetti decide to make changes to his forward line, he has options in the form of Mattia Destro, Matteo Cancellieri, and Emmanuel Gyasi. It s likely that Nicolo Cambiaghi, who hasn t scored in any of his last six Serie A appearances, would be the one to make way for any potential changes.
Conclusion
In a game that will either get Roma their first victory of Empoli their first point(s) of the season, not many will doubt Roma s status as the favourites. They have, after all, the greater quality and expectations, and they ll be playing in front of their own supporters. The Giallorossi s results should pick up in the coming weeks, especially if Mourinho can have the duo of Lukaku and Dybala playing together in a consistent way.
However, the Roma defence is to keep a clean sheet in this campaign, and Empoli could get their first goal at the Olimpico.
Verdict: Both teams to score
Best odds: 1/1
Bookmaker:
