Empoli vs Napoli Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

Empoli host Napoli on Wednesday evening as the away side look to retain their hold on second place in Serie A. Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently 10 points

Empoli host Napoli on Wednesday evening as the away side look to retain their hold on second place in Serie A.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently 10 points ahead of Inter in third, but will be determined to not to let their lead slip while there's still a chance they could be overtaken. Last time out, I Partenopei impressively beat rivals Roma 4-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

Empoli won their last home fixture against fellow strugglers Frosinone and are unbeaten in their last four home games in Serie A but remain in the relegation zone and are two points adrift of safety.

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Check out 90min's preview of the game below.

Where to Watch

When is Kick Off?	Wednesday 3 April
What Time is Kick Off?	18:00 (BST)
Where Is it Played?	Stadio Carlo Castellani
TV Channel/Live Stream?	Premier 1
Referee?	Daniele Doveri

Team News

Lorenzo Insigne will be out, having suffered a contracture in training last Friday. Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski is set to return after serving a one-match suspension during the win against Roma.

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Long-term absentee Raul Albiol is still out after having knee surgery in February. Amadou Diawara and Vlad Chiriches remain sidelined due to muscular injuries sustained before the international break.

For Empoli, defender Matias Silvestre is expected to feature having served a one-match suspension during the 1-0 defeat to Juventus.

Lorenzo Palvani has been out since August after rupturing his cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season. Antonino La Gumina and Marcel Buchel will also be out.

Predicted Lineups

Empoli	Dragowski; Dell'Orco, Silvestre, Veseli; Pasqual, Traore, Bennacer, Krunic, Lorenzo; Farias, Caputo.
Napoli	Meret; Rui, Koulibaly, Maksimovic, Malcuit; Zielinski, Ruiz, Allan, Callejon; Mertens, Milik.

Head to Head Record

Napoli thrashed Empoli 5-1 in the corresponding fixture in November, with forward Dries Mertens scoring a hat-trick.

Empoli have lost four league games in a row against Napoli, with their last victory in Serie A against I Partenopei coming in April 2015.

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The teams have met 14 times in Serie A, with Napoli winning five games, three games being drawn and Empoli winning three.

Recent Form

Napoli have won three of their last five league games and are unbeaten in their last five away games in the league.

They have also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League after beating Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 16.

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Empoli have lost three of their last five league games and have failed to win back-to-back games in Serie A since November. They have only won two out of ten league games since the turn of the year.

Here's how both teams have fared in their last five league games:

Empoli	Napoli
Juventus 1-0 Empoli (30/3)	Roma 1-4 Napoli (31/3)
Empoli 2-1 Frosinone (17/3)	Napoli 4-2 Udinese (17/3)
Roma 2-1 Empoli (11/3)	Sassuolo 1-1 Napoli (10/3)
Empoli 3-3 Parma (2/3)	Napoli 1-2 Juventus (3/3)
Milan 3-0 Empoli (22/2)	Parma 0-4 Napoli (24/2)

Prediction

With Empoli unbeaten in their last four home games in Serie A and the fact that they are battling against relegation, this has the potential to be a difficult game for the away side.

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However, Napoli will be full of confidence after dismantling Roma on their own pitch on Sunday and should ultimately have enough quality to get the victory.

Prediction: Empoli 1-2 Napoli