EMPOLI v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

Serie A resumes after the Nations League break: AC Milan return to the pitch on Saturday night at 20.45 CEST at the "Castellani" against Empoli. The Tuscan side and the Diavolo approach matchday 8 with different mindsets: the Rossoneri are looking to return to winning ways after suffering defeat at San Siro against Napoli, whilst the hosts will be in pursuit of their second win in a row after they saw off Bologna (1-0 at the Dell'Ara). Zanetti's Azzurri, despite facing a particularly tough opponent, will have two objectives: consecutive wins for the first time since December 2021 and consecutive clean sheets, which has not happened since January 2017 when they recorded three.

On a wider scale, Empoli could also achieve a result of significant magnitude given that, so far, the Tuscan side has registered one win, four draws and two defeats, and not losing this weekend would mean going unbeaten in six of the first eight matches of the season in Serie A for the second time in their history; the first dates back to the 2006/07 championship, with Luigi Cagni in the dugout. Finally, there is the factor of the pitch to consider: the hosts will be pushed to do well in front of their fans by virtue of a home record that has so far been anything but positive, only Cremonese (one) have picked up fewer points (two in three matches) at home in the current championship. Coming up against a side like AC Milan doesn't make this any easier.

RESTARTS, COUNTERATTACKS AND A DEFENSIVE RECORD: EMPOLI'S STRENGTHS
The contest at the 'Castellani', despite the seven-point gap in the table between both sides (fourteen for AC Milan, seven for Empoli) also hides some obstacles for the reigning Italian champions, who have won 36 of their 59 away matches since Pioli took charge, amongst the best in the top five European league in this period.

Saturday night's match should not be underestimated, primarily for three reasons. The first concerns the attacking phase of the Azzurri: Zanetti's eleven are particularly proficient in offensive recoveries - with 60 to their credit so far, fewer than only Napoli and Fiorentina (62 each). The second point, on the other hand, is strictly related to aerial play, but from a defensive point of view: Empoli are one of four sides in Serie A 2022/23 who are yet to concede a single headed goal (along with Atalanta, Udinese and Sampdoria), and it is no coincidence that they are at the top of the rankings for defensive headers (77, at least three more than any other). The third caution has more to do with the mental approach to the match: the Azzurri are, along with Juventus, one of the two teams that have not conceded a goal in either the first 15 minutes or the last 15 minutes of the game in the current championship. An aspect more psychological than tactical, which is telling of a team that maintains a high threshold of attention between the beginning and the end of the match. The Diavolo is warned.

DESTRO: EX FOR EXCELLENCE, BANDINELLI ON THE HUNT FOR A THIRD
To explain the concept of 'ex' in football, few examples fit as well as Mattia Destro and AC Milan. The numbers are clear: since 2019, no player in Serie A has scored more than him against AC Milan (four goals in four matches for the 1991-born striker, on a par with Romelu Lukaku and Ciro Immobile). Overall, Destro - who made fifteen Serie A appearances, scoring three goals, in the AC Milan jersey between February and May 2015 under Filippo Inzaghi - has five career goals against the Rossoneri, including a brace for Genoa in December 2020. A dangerous link between the Diavolo and the former Milanista, who has not scored in the top flight since last February. Destro has just returned from injury and could be a threat in this match.

If on the one hand there is 'history', on the other there is the present, which at the moment comes in the form of Filippo Bandinelli. The midfielder, and captain of Empoli, is the only player in the Tuscan side to have scored more than one goal so far this season, as well as being the most prolific in terms of chances created (ten). Two goals for the 27-year-old from Florence, the club's last two in Serie A, including the winner at the Dall'Ara. In short, an  an impressive CV for a captain on the hunt for goals: a dangers combination.

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