Empoli vs Juventus Prediction: Card-magnet Cambiaso to fall foul again

So far, so good for Empoli and Juventus, two clubs unbeaten after their first three Serie A matches of the season, and the pair meet each next at the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Saturday (17:00).

Read below for my Empoli vs Juventus prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this weekend's clash.

Team News

Jacopo Fazzini was withdrawn in the first 14 minutes of Italy U21's 7-0 victory over San Marino U21 last week and is doubtful of featuring for Empoli this weekend, while Szymon Zurkowski, Tyronne Ebuehi and Samuel Perisan have all been ruled out of action.

There are doubts over Guiseppe Pezzella's availability, but on-loan Juventus defender Mattia Di Sciglio is hopeful of making his Empoli debut against his parent club.

Football Odds

Juventus head coach Thiago Motta will be without Sergio Conceicao and Arkadiusz Milik for the trip to Empoli but the former Bologna boss could hand full debuts to summer signings Teun Koopmeiners and Nicolas Gonzalez, the latter having started and scored for Argentina in their 2-1 defeat to Colombia on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Khephren Thuram and Timothy Weah, sons of legendary footballers Lillian and George, are both in line to return to action this weekend after missing the Old Lady's last two matches.

Empoli vs Juventus Odds

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Juventus & Under 3.5 @ 23/20

Freed from the shackles of Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus have made a positive start to the 2024/25 season, opening up with 3-0 victories at home to Como and away to Verona before being held to a goalless draw by AS Roma last time out at the Allianz Stadium.

There has been an injection of youth in the side with 21-year-old Nicolo Savona and 20-year-old Samuel Mbangula starting all three games so far alongside 19-year-old Kenan Yildiz, who made his first-team breakthrough last season.

Juve also made some quality signings in the summer, bringing in Koopmeiners, Conceicao, Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal, Pierre Kalulu and goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, with only Cabal and Di Gregorio having made their full debuts so far.

Already there has been promise shown, but there should be much more to come from Motta's charges.

Empoli have made a solid start themselves, drawing at home to Monza (0-0) and away to Bologna (1-1) either side of a win at Roma (1-2). They also held Juve to a 1-1 draw in their previous head-to-head earlier this year, although the Old Lady were reduced to 10 men in the first 16 minutes following Milik's dismissal.

Saturday's hosts only secured their Serie A status on the final day of last season with a 2-1 victory over Roma, and only Udinese (14) and rock-bottom Salernitana (eight) picked up fewer points at home than Empoli (20) in 2023/24, so despite their promising beginning to the current campaign, there shouldn't be too much to fear for Juve this weekend.

I'm backing an away win here, and to boost the odds, I'm going for under 3.5 total goals. Juventus are yet to concede a goal under Motta, and there have been three strikes or fewer in all of Juve and Empoli's games so far this term.

Player to Receive a Card - Andrea Cambiaso @ 7/2

For my second selection, I'm backing Juventus wing-back Andrea Cambiaso to receive a card against Empoli. The 24-year-old has started all three of his side's games this season, playing the duration against Como and Roma and only being taken off in the 85th minute against Verona.

Cambiaso received his first and only booking of the season so far in Juve's opening contest against Como but is averaging 1.3 fouls per game in Serie A, up from one per game last season. The Italy international also conceded a free-kick in just 27 minutes of action for his national team against Israel earlier this week.

The Genoa Academy graduate was a regular in referee notebooks last term, picking up 10 yellows in 34 Serie A outings, and at 7/2, I like his odds of being cautioned for a second time this season on Saturday.

Starting on Juve's right-hand side, Cambiaso could be in direct contact with Guiseppe Pezzella, who has been fouled an average of 2.3 times per game down Empoli's left-hand side so far this term.

Offers

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