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Monza host Empoli at the Brianteo Stadium in Serie A on Saturday, looking to recover from back-to-back losses.
After going eight top-flight matches unbeaten, the Biancorossi lost consecutively to AC Milan and Salernitana.
This has seen them slip out of the top 10 standings and drop to 11th position on the table with 29 points from 24 games.
It's still a massive improvement from their disastrous start, having lost their opening five games of the season and gone their first six matches winless.
Playing in Serie A for the first time ever, Monza appeared likely to be heading back down to second division, but are now 12 points clear of the relegation zone.
Empoli, meanwhile, have acrrued one point fewer than Monza and sit two positions adrift of them in the standings.
The Azzurri are winless in their last five league matches too, having gone undefeated in the previous five.
Their last outing ended in a 2-0 defeat to runaway leaders Napoli at home as an own goal from Ardian Ismajli, coupled with a strike from Victor Osimhen, condemned the side to their eighth loss of the league season.
Monza vs Empoli Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Empoli have never lost to Monza in six clashes, winning four.
- Monza failed to win their two Serie A meetings against sides from Tuscany in the first-half of the season: 1-0 defeat against Empoli in October and 1-1 draw with Fiorentina in January.
- After the victories against Monza and Cremonese, Empoli could win three Serie A matches in a row against promoted sides for the first time since 2016, when they beat Crotone, Pescara and Cagliari.
- Monza have lost 67% of their Serie A games on Saturday: they've suffered four defeats in six games, including 1-0 against Milan on February 18.
- After the 1-0 defeat to AC Milan and 3-0 to Salernitana, Monza could fail to find the net in three Serie A matches in a row for the first time - including Serie B, they last did so in 1998 (4 in a row).
Monza vs Empoli Prediction
Monza's upward spiral has hit the glass ceiling recently while Empoli have also gone off the boil since the end of January. So, in a clash between two struggling teams, a low-scoring draw seems like the most probable outcome.
Prediction: Monza 1-1 Empoli
Monza vs Empoli Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: Yes
