Roma vs. Empoli
Stadio Olimpico
30 October, 2016
15.00 CET
[ultimatetables 40 /]
Probable Formations
AS Roma
(4-2-3-1)
Szczesny
Rüdiger, Manolas, Fazio, Emerson
De Rossi, Paredes
Salah, Nainggolan, El Shaarawy
Dzeko
Empoli
(4-3-1-2)
Skorupski
Veseli, Bellusci, Costa, Pasqual
Tello, Mauri, Croce
Saponara
Gilardino, Maccarone
Key Match-up:
Alberto Gilardino vs. Federico Fazio
Empoli striker Alberto Gilardino as always been a thorn in the side of AS Roma, regardless of the club he plays for.
A quick internet search and you’ll notice that Gilardino has scored 12 goals against Roma in 31 matches: his third highest tally against Italian teams he’s played against.
While it’s true Gilardino has had a slow start to life in Tuscany with Empoli, he has yet to score a goal this season, he still remains one of the players who has purged Roma time and time again.
It will be the responsibility of Federico Fazio to try and curb the ex-Fiorentina man’s ability and keep him at bay. The Argentine has been in very good form: he will have to continue this if Roma are to get all three points. Even though Empoli’s attack has been embarrassingly bad (the team has scored a total of two goals this season — both of which were scored by defenders), Roma must still remain cautious.
