Our prediction for this Serie A match:
Stadio Carlo Castellani will host Saturday’s football game between Empoli and Torino, the two teams who are sitting in the opposite halves of the table. Empoli are eager to put an end to their four-game losing run and they are likely to fight tooth and nail against Il Toro. Midfielder Youssef Maleh is back from suspension for the home side, while both Tyronne Ebuehi and Alberto Grassi remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Il Toro, on the other hand, have been in a fine form of late, with the team beating both Udinese and Monza in the previous two league matches and they must be brimming with confidence ahead of the trip to Florence. Torino seem to be more of a team than Empoli and we predict that the visitors are going to prove their worth on the field. Paraguay forward Antonio Sanabria should be recalled to the starting line-up after scoring the winner against the Biancorossi, while Serbia midfielder Ivan Ilic has yet to overcome a knee injury.
Highlighted Player (Duvan Zapata):
Duvan Zapata was born in Cali, Colombia on 1 April, 1991. The 186-cm-tall attacker started his youth career at America de Cali, playing for the club between 2004 and 2008. In 2008 he made his debut for the first team and three years later he scored his first hat-trick for the Colombian outfit, in a 3-2 win over Deportivo Pereira.
In 2011 he signed a loan deal with Estudiantes and he found the net for the Argentine team on his debut against Belgrano. After scoring 11 goals in 37 appearances for Estudiantes, the Colombian striker joined Napoli in 2013, but he failed to establish himself as a first-choice attacker.
On 22 July, 2015 Zapata joined fellow Serie A team Udinese on loan and it has to be noted that he scored eight goals in 24 league appearances for the Zebrette. Duvan Zapata has 5 caps for Colombia U20 team, but he has yet to make his debut for the senior side.
Highlighted Team (Empoli):
Empoli FC (Empoli Football Club 1920 SpA) is an Italian football club founded in 1920 and is currently active in the Italian Serie A.
The club is playing in the Serie A since 2014/2015 and hosts its home games in the Stadio Carlo Castellani which holds a capacity of 19 847 seats. The home colors of Empoli FC are blue and white. The Empoli Ultra’s are called Rangers 1976 and are feared in Italy.
Empoli FC didn’t win any major prizes in the clubs history. The clubs biggest achievement in the history was in 2004/2005 where the club finished first in the Serie B (the second highest football division). Because of a matchfixing scandal the title was given away to Genoa CFC. Empoli FC played in the UEFA Cup once in season 2007/2008 but got knocked out in the first round by FC Zurich.
The are several famous players that played for Empoli FC like Birindelli, Bresciano, Di Natale and Luca Toni.