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Spezia will entertain Empoli at the Stadio Alberto Picco in their Serie A opener on Sunday.
Both teams finished in the lower half of the points table last season and will look for better campaigns this time. Spezia got their 2022-23 season underway with a win in the Coppa Italia first round on Saturday, beating Serie B side Como 5-1 at home.
Empoli also featured in the first round of the cup competition last week but lost to Serie B team SPAL 2-1 at home. They'll look to avoid a similar fate in their Serie A season opener.
Spezia vs Empoli Head-to-Head
The two teams have crossed paths 44 times across competitions, mostly in the lower tiers of Italian football. They met for the first time in Serie A last season, with both meetings ending in draws.
Empoli have a 17-12 lead in wins but have not beaten their northern rivals since 2014. As many as 15 games in this fixture have ended in draws, including five of their last six meetings.
Spezia form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-L
Empoli form guide (all competitions): L-W-W-W-W
Spezia vs Empoli Team News
Spezia
Janis Antiste is a long-term absentee with an ACL injury and is not expected to be back in action till at least next month. Kelvin Amian, meanwhile, underwent an operation last month and will not play this game.
Salva Ferrer is sidelined with an injury, while new signing Albin Ekdal is also recovering from an ailment and is not expected to start. Meanwhile, Giulio Maggiore has refused to play after being replaced as captain by vice-captain Emmanuel Gyasi.
Injured: Salva Ferrer, Albin Ekdal, Janis Antiste, Kelvin Amian
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Giulio Maggiore
Empoli
Gli Azzurri have just one injury concern - Lorenzo Tonelli remains sidelined with a ligament injury. On-loan defender Koni De Winter will serve a suspension carried forward from last season when he represented Juventus U-23.
Injured: Lorenzo Tonelli
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Koni De Winter
Unavailable: None
Spezia vs Empoli Predicted XIs
Spezia (3-5-2): Jeroen Zoet (GK); Mattia Caldara, Dimitrios Nikolaou, Jakub Kiwior; Simone Bastoni, Emmanuel Gyasi, Mehdi Bourabia, Kevin Agudelo, Jacopo Sala; Daniele Verde, M'Bala Nzola
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Guglielmo Vicario (GK); Petar Stojanovic, Ardian Ismajli, Sebastiano Luperto, Fabiano Parisi; Filippo Bandinelli, Nicolas Haas, Razvan Marin; Liam Henderson; Martín Satriano, Nicolo Cambiaghi
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Spezia vs Empoli Prediction
Empoli had a solid pre-season, winning all their friendlies, but were given a reality check by SPAL in the Coppa Italia. Aquilotti, meanwhile, produced a solid display in the cup competition.
While Spezia's home advantage and form gives them an advantage, recent meetings between the two teams have been low-scoring affairs, with most of them ending in draws. So it's very likely they could play out another stalemate in their campaign opener on Sunday.
Prediction: Spezia 1-1 Empoli
