Comments, predictions Empoli vs Fiorentina: Minimum win

Flying high near the top of Serie A, Empoli will face cross-city rivals Fiorentina on Sunday evening, looking to extend their unbeaten run of the season.

The Azzurri head into the first Derby dell'Arno of the season on the back of two consecutive league and cup wins, while the Viola finally recorded their first win last weekend.

Latest Empoli vs Fiorentina team information

While Empoli coach Roberto D'Aversa remains without Samuele Perisan, Szymon Zurkowski and Tyronne Ebuehi, both Jacopo Fazzini and former Fiorentina midfielder Youssef Maleh are hopeful of recovering enough to be named on the bench.

After Pietro Pellegri was given a start against parent club Torino in midweek, Inter Milan-owned Sebastiano Esposito and AC Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo will continue to partner up front.

The hosts will field a familiar three-man defence, with Ardian Ismajli recording the most clearances of any Serie A player so far this term (51) and defensive team-mate Mattia Viti topping the tally for successful tackles (15).

Meanwhile, Raffaele Palladino is expected to switch to a back four, and his main fitness concerns relate to centre-back Marin Pongracic (thigh) and midfielder Rolando Mandragora (tendon), both of whom remain favourites to feature at the Stadio Castellani.

After making a big impact from the bench last week - having finally recovered from the calf injury that affected his start in Florence - Albert Gudmundsson could make his first start, supporting Moise Kean in Fiorentina's attack.

Kean has scored three goals in five league games against Empoli so far, and the Italy forward has also scored twice in his last three Serie A appearances - as many as in his previous 36.

Latest Empoli vs Fiorentina expected lineup

Empoli:

Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Pezzella; Anjorin, Esposito; Colombo

Fiorentina:

De Gea; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Pongracic, Biraghi; Cataldi, Bove; Colpani, Gudmundsson, Sottil; Kean

Latest football commentary Empoli vs Fiorentina

With two wins and three draws from their first five games, Empoli have reached this stage of the Serie A season without losing a game for the first time in their history - and they head into the weekend with their Coppa Italia hopes alive.

Two of those draws came against Bologna and Juventus - both of whom qualified for the Champions League last season - and the Azzurri also beat Roma in the capital; last week they conquered Cagliari in Sardinia.

Lorenzo Colombo opened the scoring before on-loan striker Sebastiano Esposito finally ended his goal drought in the top flight to seal a 2-0 win that moved Empoli to an impressive nine points overall.

But their success doesn't stop there, as Roberto D'Aversa takes his in-form side to Turin in midweek, where they take on another unbeaten side, Torino.

The visitors eventually won a tense cup tie on Tuesday night, with Nicolas Haas scoring a late winner to set up a last-16 tie against Fiorentina themselves.

Sunday's match will mark the third time Empoli have faced the Viola in Serie A while on more points than their regional rivals, and fans will be hoping their dream start does not come to an abrupt end in the derby.

Fiorentina have won just one of their last six Serie A away games against Empoli - and none since November 2016 - will be under no illusions about the task they face at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

Aside from struggling through the Conference League playoffs last month, the Viola had picked up just three points ahead of last week's game against Lazio, having failed to win their first four Serie A games for the first time in five years.

New coach Raffaele Palladino was delighted to see summer signing Albert Gudmundsson back to fitness, as the Icelandic striker confidently converted two penalties - the second in second-half stoppage time - to secure a 2-1 win.

Sitting in 13th place in the table after five games, Fiorentina are now determined to maintain their upward momentum by beating Empoli, ahead of next week's Conference League opener against unfancied Welsh side The New Saints.

The Viola have started their Serie A campaign with a draw and an away defeat, and Palladino will be keen to avoid failing to win any of his first three games - which would make him the first Fiorentina manager to do so since Vincenzo Montella 12 years ago. Empoli have come from behind to remain unbeaten so far, and will no doubt cause Fiorentina plenty of problems in the Derby dell'Arno.

However, the Viola could spoil the party for their Azzurri rivals by claiming maximum points, as they have regained confidence from last week's win.

Score prediction Empoli vs Fiorentina

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Empoli vs Fiorentina match:

• Sportsmole: Empoli 1-2 Fiorentina

• WhoScore: Empoli 0-1 Fiorentina
• Our prediction: Empoli 0-1 Fiorentina

When and where to watch Empoli vs Fiorentina live?

To watch the live match between Empoli vs Fiorentina in Serie A at 11:00 p.m. on September 29, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.

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