Second-bottom Empoli travel to relegated Monza, knowing they could finish gameweek 37 outside the bottom three or nearer to losing their Serie A status.
Azzurri Empolesi enter the round 37 clash at U-Power Stadium aware that maximum points could see them finish the penultimate matchday in 17th if they secure a sixth league triumph and results elsewhere are favourable.
Match preview
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With the pressure off, Monza secured their first victory since January’s 2-1 success over Fiorentina, ending a 15-match winless streak in Serie A by defeating Udinese last time out.
That run saw the Biancorossi suffer 13 consecutive losses, including a six-match defeat streak, during which they failed to score in five.
Scoring two for only the third time this year was certainly unusual for the Brianzoli, who now aim to secure consecutive Serie A victories for the first time since March 2024, when they beat Genoa 3-2 and followed that with a 1-0 triumph against Cagliari.
However, those aspirations are uncertain due to their recent record against this weekend’s visitors, against whom they have failed to score in consecutive games.
Nevertheless, optimistic supporters will recall that both of those games were away in Tuscany, while the previous two in Lombardy ended in victories for the Biancorossi.
Keen to secure a third consecutive victory over Empoli on their home turf, Alessandro Nesta‘s men, who can play without pressure, now hope to weaken Azzurri Empolesi’s survival prospects.
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The visitors, like Monza, ended an extended run of games without success in the previous round, as their 2-1 win at home to Parma ended their 20-match top-flight drought, having last secured maximum points against Hellas Verona in December.
That triumph was the Tuscany outfit’s last success on their travels, and Roberto D’Aversa‘s men could add to their three away victories this term, which would mark their first in 2025, heading into the final day encouraged in the relegation tussle.
The second-bottom Empoli enter the penultimate round level with 18th-placed Lecce and one behind Venezia in 17th.
With Lecce hosting Torino and Venezia travelling to Cagliari, opponents ahead of the pair in the table, victory for Empoli could lift them out of the bottom three if their relegation rivals falter.
Conversely, D’Aversa’s team could fall further behind if they fail to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time in two years since beating Bologna (3-1) and Salernitana (2-1) in May 2023.
Team News
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Monza have a surplus of absentees: Pedro Pereira is suspended, while Armando Izzo, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Dany Mota, Gianluca Caprari, Luca Caldirola, Matteo Pessina, Roberto Gagliardini and Silvere Ganvoula are missing due to injury.
With top-scorer Mota sidelined, the relegated hosts must do without their five-goal player and will rely on Keita Balde, whose late winner at Udinese was his third goal for the division’s second-lowest scorers.
While Empoli have fewer absentees, D’Aversa’s men are without the injured Christian Kouame, Nicolas Haas, Pietro Pellegri, Saba Sazonov, Szymon Zurkowski and Youssef Maleh.
Although Sebastiano Esposito has not scored for the Tuscany-based club since January, the eight-goal forward’s return accounts for 27.5% of the away side’s 29 goals, and they hope to see a return to form in the season’s finale.
Monza possible starting lineup:
Pizzignacco; Forson, Palacios, Carboni; Birindelli, Ciurria, Bianco, Akpro, Kyriakopoulos; Petagna, Caprari
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Cacace; Esposito
We say: Monza 0-1 Empoli
Sunday’s contest is hard to predict, considering Monza’s poor home record and Empoli’s dismal away results.
However, the absence of Nesta’s key forwards and the away side’s desperation to win could enable D’Aversa’s men to secure a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
