Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma heads to Empoli on Monday hoping to get back to winning ways after suffering back-to-back losses. Can the Giallorossi get going again?
Empoli are the draw specialists of the league and have split the points in four of their five outings in 2022-23. Bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 3.75 for another draw on Monday. The odds are at 4.60 for Empoli to win and at 1.73 for Roma to get the three points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 11th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
Roma got off to a great start to the season winning three of the opening four games and sharing the league lead with Atalanta, but they took a heavy 4-0 beating from Udinese in the last Serie A round and also ended up suffering a 2-1 defeat against Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the Europa League.
The result against Udinese marked one of Mourinho’s biggest ever defeats as manager and he will definitely want a reaction to it from his men. Especially with a pair of big games coming up against Atalanta and Inter. The current poor spell could quickly escalate into a long win-less run if things don’t improve immediately.
With only one goal scored across two games, the attacking players need to do a lot better and most of the eyes are on Paulo Dybala, who was a huge signing for the club in the summer. The Argentine star has started life in Rome with two goals and one assist in five league outings. He notched his 100th Serie A goal against Monza near the end of last month and his work in the Italian top-flight also includes 52 assists.
Dybala can produce a match-winning moment at any given moment and Empoli have to do everything they can to limit his impact on the game.
Roma won 4-2 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani last season but getting a result away to Empoli isn’t a very easy task. Since the defeat to Roma, Empoli have lost just twice at home in nine outings. Their home games tend to be very tight affairs and a lot of patience is required if you want to have success.
Historically, Roma have done very well in the match-up. Empoli last managed to beat them in 2007 and Roma’s 13-game unbeaten run since then includes nine wins. They have notched five consecutive victories in the head-to-head meetings ahead of Monday’s clash.
