AS Roma – Empoli

AS Roma and Empoli will square off in the Coppa Italia Round 16, with both sides having more focus on the league but also wanting to do well in this competition.

The title is slowly slipping away from Roma, with the Giallorossi now 5 points behind Juventus, so the Coppa Italia would be a fantastic chance for silverware this season. Rudi Garcia has called up a strong squad for this clash and even if he might make a couple of changes in the usual lineup, there will still be a solid first 11 out there. Roma is on the back of 2 consecutive draws, last time out 1-1 at Palermo, but will relish coming back at Olimpico where they are undefeated this season, allowing just 6 goals.

Empoli looked like a really solid side earlier this season, but they have not won a game in 6 weeks and are now just 3 points above the relegation zone in Serie A. On the bright side Empoli remains a very hard team to beat – top class defensive football and tactical consistency allowed Empoli to lose just once in the last 10 matches and concede just 5 goals in the process. The visitors are on the back of a 0-0 home draw with Inter.

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Team news: Both sides could make a couple of tweaks in their lineups, but overall we should see most of the best players on the pitch. I`m not sure about Empoli, but Roma’s lineup will look similar to the one below.

AS Roma: Skoruspki – Holebas, Astori, Yanga-Mbiwa, Cole – Ucan, De Rossi, Nainggolan – Florenzi, Destro, Verde

With Empoli being so hard to break down and Roma resting 2-3 key offensive guys (probably Totti, Pjanic, also Gervinho is out), I can really see a low scoring game on the under/over market here. Empoli has zero offensive firepower and chances are they won’t even get a decent opportunity to score at Olimpico, while Roma will play a possession game, patiently waiting for an opening. In these circumstances a classic 1-0 or 2-0 home win for Roma is what we should expect. My tip is under 2,5 goals and I`ll go with a solid 8 unit stake – the bet really has some value at these odds. Prediction: AS Roma – Empoli 1-0.

Pick: under 2,5
Odds: 2.06 @ Unibet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 8.48
Event date: 20 January