Serie A

Salernitana v Empoli for survival

Salernitana host their former coach Davide Nicola and Empoli: in a very delicate match, both seek survival points

Matchday 24 of Serie A TIM opens tonight with the survival clash between Salernitana and Empoli. Pippo Inzaghi's team, after the point obtained against Torino which ended a streak of four consecutive defeats, plays to close the gap with their opponents. Five points higher is Davide Nicola's Empoli, returning to Salerno as an opponent after achieving a miraculous salvation with the Campania team, seeking the fourth consecutive positive result after the victory against Monza and draws against Juventus and Genoa to leave the penultimate position in the standings.

DID YOU KNOW?

Salernitana vs Empoli will see the two teams with the fewest goals in Serie A this season meet (19 goals for the Granata, 15 for the Azzurri); indeed, the Tuscan team are also the club that have failed to score in the most matches (13) in the big-5 European Leagues in 2023-24. Salernitana have attempted 11 shots from high turnovers in Serie A so far, fewer than any other side this season, while Empoli have attempted 32 such shots, only fewer than Napoli (40), Atalanta (36), Frosinone (34), Cagliari and Inter (both 33).

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Salernitana and Empoli have faced each other seven times in Serie A, with the Granata only winning once previously (D3 L3): a 3-2 victory, courtesy of a hat-trick of Marco Di Vaio in February 1999, with goals by Cerbone and Bonomi for the Azzurri. The seven matches between Salernitana and Empoli in Serie A have seen both teams score on six occasions – the only exception was the reverse fixture, won by the Tuscans 1-0 (average of 3.3 goals scored per game). Salernitana have drawn two of their three home games against Empoli in Serie A (L1), conceding 2.3 goals per game on average in these matches, including drawing 2-2 in the most recent one in September 2022.

PLAYERS

Davide Nicola managed 37 games (W9 D12 L16) with Salernitana in Serie A, between February 2022 and February 2023; his first season as Salernitana coach represents one of the two cases in the history of the competition in which a team avoided relegation having won 13 or fewer points after 23 games– the other team to do so was Crotone 2016-17, with Nicola as a coach. Jérôme Boateng returned to play a match in the big 5 European Leagues last time out, after 246 days since the previous one (Nice-Lyon, 3rd June 2023); he recorded eight clearances on his debut with Salernitana, only fewer than Bremer (9) on MD23 in Serie A. Nicolò Cambiaghi has attempted 52 shots without scoring in Serie A this term; since 2004-05 (since the data has been available in Serie A) the only striker who has attempted more shots to find his first goal of the season in the competition was Enrico Chiesa in 2004-05, who scored his first goal in the 57th shot attempted.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: Squalificati: Walukiewicz (Empoli) Cautioned: Diffidati: Bradaric, Kastanos e Gyomber (Salernitana); Grassi, Gyasi e Fazzini (Empoli)

REFEREE

Mariani (Di Iorio-Palermo) IV: Zufferli, VAR: Irrati, AVAR: Sozza

UPCOMING MATCHES IN SERIE A TIM

Inter-Salernitana (Friday 16 February, 20:45 CET) Empoli-Fiorentina (Sunday 18 February, 15:00 CET) (Photo Getty Images)