Genoa vs Empoli Prediction: Home win backed in 4/1 Betfred Price Boost

Patrick Vieira’s Genoa will be looking to put their Serie A frustrations on the back burner on Thursday when they host Empoli in the second round of the Coppa Italia at the Luigi Ferraris (18:30 local, 17:30 BST).

The Grifone are winless in the league after four games, so my Genoa vs Empoli predictions won’t be banking on a victory against the side sat 16th in Serie B. My picks follow below, with full team news and Betfred’s latest match odds.

Team News

Vieira will have to decide whether to go with the majority of the side which lost in heartbreaking fashion in Bologna on Saturday.

Genoa led midway through the second period at the Dall’Ara, but Santi Castro equalised with 17 minutes remaining before Riccardo Orsolini converted from the spot in the ninth minute of stoppage time following a long, slow, painful VAR review.

Caleb Ekuban came on for Lorenzo Colombo early in the second half, and, having scored the injury-time equaliser at Como the previous weekend, he could get the nod to start in this one.

Other first-choice stars, including former Millwall full-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy, could continue as the former Crystal Palace and Nice boss looks to inject confidence into his troops.

Empoli boss Guido Pagliuca needs to get his side back on the horse following Sunday’s 4-0 hammering in Pescara.

They have now conceded eight goals in three winless games since opening their league season with a 3-1 win over Padova.

Pagliuca could call back Gabriele Guarino, who was one of two players sent off late in the first half of an eventual 3-1 loss at Reggiana in late August. He returned as a second-half substitute in the loss to Pescara and will be considered for a start here.

Bogdan Popov should lead the line having scored four goals in four Serie B appearances this term.

Genoa vs Empoli Odds

The Grifone might not have been picking up the results so far this term but they are expected to do so in this one.

Betfred make them the 1/2 favourites to win inside 90 minutes, with Empoli an 11/2 chance.

With the draw in normal time priced at 11/4, Genoa are 1/4 to progress from the tie with Empoli 11/4 to make it to round three.

Genoa to win both halves (Price Boost from 3/1) @ 4/1

Betfred might just have done punters quite the solid with this price boost.

At 3/1 I was already tempted, so 4/1 looks a great shout for Genoa to win both halves.

Empoli have been pretty poor of late, and while the Ligurians haven’t exactly been red hot this season they were definitely much improved against Bologna.

Sure, they lost that one in the deepest of stoppage time, but Vieira will have been buoyed by the way his side took to that game and on another day they would have taken the three points.

As long as the Frenchman goes with a pretty strong lineup, I can see the home side having a fair bit too much for an Empoli side who will probably already be thinking about Sunday’s clash with mid-table Carrarese if they fall behind.

An early goal, and this one is very much on.

Football Odds

Handicap +1: Genoa -1 @ 8/5

In a similar vein, I like the look of backing Genoa to win by at least two goals.

At 8/5, this carries an implied probability of 38.5%. But the Rossoblu do carry threats, whatever their production rates in Serie A so far.

A weight was clearly lifted when Caleb Ekuban scored that dramatic late equaliser against Como 10 days ago.

And while the Bologna loss was a setback, they still looked more dangerous in that game than in their opening two league fixtures against Lecce and Juventus.

They’ve shown with their victory over Vicenza in round one that they are willing to put lesser teams to the sword, and while Empoli are a step up I think they can take their place in the last 16 off the back of a comfortable-looking result.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.