Empoli v Bologna

Empoli vs Bologna Preview

Despite holding home advantage at their Stadio Carlo Castellani for Friday night's tussle against high-flying Bologna, Empoli look set for further difficulties as they dropped down to 17th place in the Serie A table after being handed a second defeat on the trot on the weekend when they suffered a 1-0 defeat away from home at AC Milan, while Bologna also slipped to defeat when they incurred a 1-0 loss at home to the league leaders, Inter Milan.

Empoli had previously lost 1-0 at home to Cagliari and these two recent defeats have resulted in Empoli sitting just one league position and one point above the relegation zone ahead of what is expected to be a tough evening at the office for the hosts when Bologna visit on Friday night.

Form and results have been sporadic for Empoli throughout this season's Italian top flight campaign as the hosts had previously put together a six-match unbeaten run in Serie A which included three wins against the likes of Monza, Salernitana and Sassuolo although even before this six-match sequence, Empoli had failed to win any of their preceding eight league matches.

Results at home have for the most part eluded Empoli as the hosts have collected just two wins but have also been handed eight defeats as well.

Bologna still remained in fourth place in the Serie A standings despite being dealt a 1-0 defeat at home by Inter Milan last weekend but the visitors had been helped by their previous solid work which had resulted in collecting six wins on the trot in the domestic top flight which has contributed to a three-point buffer between themselves and fifth placed Roma.

Within these recent six wins, Bologna have registered two of these victories on their travels with wins recorded at Lazio and Atalanta while the bigger picture shows that Thiago Motta's side have lost just three out of their last 16 league matches overall whilst picking up 10 wins in the process.

Bologna have also produced a fairly solid sequence of results on their travels in the domestic top flight for quite some time as well, as the visitors have been dealt just three defeats in their last 16 outings on the road in Serie A which further underlines the visitors' apparent edge over their hosts ahead of this upcoming encounter.

In addition, Bologna have scored in 17 of their last 20 away games in the Italian top flight and this could cause Empoli further problems on Friday night.

Empoli v Bologna Verdict

Bologna may have managed to win just once in the previous five meetings against Empoli in earlier exchanges but the visitors are enjoying a decent campaign this term and their improved quality should be the difference in this clash.

Therefore, our main bet will be Bologna win @ 2.05

Other side bets worth considering:

Bologna win & Under 2.5 goals @ 4.00

Correct Score: Bologna 1-0 @ 6.50