Fresh from a thrilling encounter with Juventus, Inter Milan travel to Empoli for a midweek Serie A fixture. The champions will be keen to keep leaders Napoli within their sights and should have the upper hand over the hosts, who are out of sorts at the moment.
Empoli head into Wednesday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Parma in their previous Serie A fixture. They got a fortunate opener after Woyo Coulibaly put through his own bet but were pegged back 10 minutes from time.
That result means Empoli are now winless in their last four matches, suffering two defeats in that run. Roberto D’Aversa’s men are also winless in their last four home matches, failing to score a single goal in that run.
Inter Milan are also coming off a draw as they were held to a thrilling 4-4 scoreline by Juventus last time out in Serie A. They raced to a 4-2 lead early in the second half but failed to hold on and conceded a late equaliser.
Manager Simone Inzaghi will be disappointed with his team’s defending, although the result means Inter Milan are unbeaten in six matches across all competitions. They have claimed five wins in that run and have also kept clean sheets in three of their last four away.
How the bookies view it: Easy pickings for Inter
Inter Milan have been installed as overwhelming favourites and are priced at 2/5 by Betfred to claim the win. Empoli are considered outsiders, with a home win valued at 13/2 by Betfred, who is also offering odds of 18/5 for a draw.
Head to head: One-sided encounters
Inter Milan have a 26-3 advantage with two draws from 31 previous matches against Empoli. The Nerazzurri have won the last three fixtures and claimed a 2-0 victory in the most recent meeting back in April.
Players to watch: Watch in-form Thuram
Marcus Thuram has impressed for Inter Milan this season, scoring seven goals in nine Serie A matches so far. The striker will be the one to each and is priced at 7/5 by Betfred to find the net on Wednesday.
Given Empoli’s goal scoring problems at home, Inter Milan will be targeting a shutout on Wednesday. Stefan de Vrij is likely to continue at the back and can lead the champions to another clean sheet at 21/20 with Betfred.
Probable line-ups
Sebastiano Esposito and Szymon Zurkowski remain sidelined for Empoli. Liam Henderson could be handed a start in midfield after coming off the bench last time out while Ardian Ismajli is set to continue at the back.
Inter Milan are still without Francesco Acerbi and Hakan Calhanoglu, who remain sidelined with injury. Matteo Darmian could come in at right back while Thuram and Lautaro Martinez should maintain their attacking partnership.
Empoli: Vazquez, Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti, Grassi, Gyasi, Fazzini, Henderson, Pezzella, Solbakken, Colombo
Inter Milan: Sommer, Bastoni, de Vrij, Pavard, Dimarco, Mkhitaryan, Zielinski, Barella, Darmian, Thuram, Martinez
Anything else catch the eye?
Inter Milan have won to nil in their last three matches against Empoli and could be set for a repeat at 13/10. The quality in their attack means a -1 handicap could also be considered at 6/5 with Betfred.
The Nerazzurri are expected to be dominant on Wednesday and could be backed to win both halves at 9/4 with Betfred.
This Serie A match between Empoli and Inter Milan will be played on Oct 30, 2024 and kick off at 18:30. Check below for our tipsters best Empoli vs Inter Milan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
