Empoli vs Bologna Prediction: Sambia to suffer against Ndoye

There's a Derby della Madonnina in the second Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday, but before that all-Milan clash is Tuesday's final-four tie between Empoli and Bologna, who face off at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in the first leg.

Below are my Empoli vs Bologna predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this 20:00 kick-off (live on Premier Sports Player).

Team News

Where do we start with Empoli's injuries? As many as seven players could miss out through injury for Roberto D'Aversa's side, who, in 18th, are embroiled in a Serie A relegation battle.

Youssef Maleh, Szymon Zurkowski, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov, Pietro Pellegri (all knee) and Ardian Ismajli (thigh) are all in the Tuscany club's treatment room, while Tino Anjorin has only just recovered from a thigh problem and may not be deemed fit enough to make his return on Tuesday.

Football Odds

Liam Henderson, meanwhile, is suspended, but Jacopo Fazzini and Ola Solbakken made their returns from lengthy periods on the sideline in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Como.

Empoli are just two games away from a first-ever Coppa Italia final, but D'Aversa has suggested that he will keep faith with the players that have gotten the club to this stage.

He said: "We are playing the semi-final also thanks to the performances of our young players who grew up in the youth sector; this a source of pride for the club that has a precise philosophy that the Corsi family has always supported.

"We will not think differently, I don't see why we should change the management of the competition. And then there are the boys who are returning from injury and it is right that they also play in view of the primary objective of the championship [Serie A]."

Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano benched a couple of key players - Dan Ndoye and Jhon Lucumi - for Saturday's 1-0 win at Venezia, perhaps due to their international exertions with Switzerland and Colombia, respectively, but also with a view to Tuesday's first leg.

Both players should return to the starting XI at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, and they could be joined by Argentine striker Santiago Castro, who missed the trip to Venice as he was suspended.

Castro's countryman, Benjamin Dominguez, and Italian midfielder, Tommaso Pobega, could also earn promotions to the line-up.

Charalampos Lykogiannis and Lorenzo De Silvestri, who missed Saturday's victory with an ankle injury and illness, respectively, have been named in Italiano's extended list for Tuesday and could feature against Empoli.

Empoli vs Bologna Odds

Empoli have avoided defeat against Bologna twice already this season, exchanging a couple of 1-1 draws in Serie A, but despite holding home advantage on Tuesday, D'Aversa's charges are 100/30, or a 23.1% chance, to take a first-leg lead to the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on April 24. I Rossoblu, meanwhile, are 4/5, or a 55.6% chance, to head back to Bologna with the upper hand.

A third stalemate of the season between the two teams can be backed at 9/4, and both teams to score again is priced at 1/1.

Bologna's leading marksman this season, Riccardo Orsolini, who struck against Monza in the last 16 - his only Coppa Italia outing of the campaign so far - is 15/8 favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, followed by forwards Thijs Dallinga and Castro (both 2/1). Inter loanee Sebastiano Esposito is first up for the hosts at 3/1.

Player to Receive a Card - Junior Sambia (EMP) @ 4/1

Yep, once again, I am backing Ndoye in drawing a card from an opposing player who is in close contact with him. The Swiss winger is a tricky customer for defenders, as evidenced by his fouled-per-game average of 3.1 in this season's Serie A.

The 24-year-old missed his side's home game in the league against Empoli but played the entirety of January's reverse fixture, winning five free-kicks, two of which were conceded by Saba Goglichidze, who was operating on the right-hand side of a back three. Emmanuel Gyasi was playing ahead of him as a right wing-back, and he made one foul on Ndoye.

With D'Aversa pledging to stick with his young guns, we should see Luca Marianucci and Junior Sambia line up as the right-sided centre-back and right wing-back, respectively, on Tuesday. Marianucci has started all four cup ties this season and Sambia three; both could be tasked with stopping Ndoye in the first leg.

I'm backing Sambia to receive a card despite not picking one up in this season's competition. He has, though, averaged a foul per game and was booked four times in 18 appearances (10 starts) in Serie A for Torino last season.

The 28-year-old has also committed a foul in his last two matches.

Meanwhile, an opposition player has been booked for a foul on Ndoye in the attacker's last four appearances for Bologna.

First Goal Time (30 Minute Intervals) - 1-30 @ 5/6

There's always the danger of the first leg being cagey, and the two previous head-to-heads between these sides this season have each produced just two goals - one for either side.

However, all four strikes came before half-time - three inside the first half an hour.

In the first game, at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in August, Bologna's Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring in the second minute, only for Gyasi to equalise for Empoli a minute later.

Then, in January's reverse fixture, it was Empoli who struck first through Lorenzo Colombo in the 24th minute before Dominguez brought the visitors back level in the 44th.

Four of Empoli's last five home games have seen the first goal scored in the first 30 minutes, and all four of their Coppa Italia ties this season have seen a strike in that period.

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