Tuesday sees the semi-finals of this season’s Coppa Italia begin as Empoli host Bologna in the first leg of their clash at the Carlo Castellani Stadium.
It will be a historic night for Empoli as they have reached the semi-final stage for the first time ever. Despite sitting in the Serie A relegation zone, the Coppa Italia been a positive for Empoli this season and they now face a Bologna side who are in scintillating form in the semi-final.
It promises to be a hugely exciting game, so let’s preview the first of the competition’s final four fixtures.
What has their run to the semi-final been like?
Empoli:
It has been a historic cup run for the Tuscans as Roberto D’Aversa has guided them to the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history. Empoli began the competition by comfortably beating Serie B outfit Catanzaro 4-1 before beating Torino away 2-1 in the next round.
In the round of 16, Empoli defeated Fiorentina 4-3 on penalties, after a 2-2 draw, to progress to the quarter-final where they would produce arguably one of the greatest shocks in the competition’s history. Empoli travelled to the competition’s current holders Juventus in the next round and were undoubtedly the underdogs.
However, they defied expectations and beat the Bianconeri 4-2 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw, to reach the semi-final for the first time in the club’s 105-year history.
Bologna:
As they were one of the tournament’s top eight-seeded teams, Bologna entered the competition in the round of 16 where they met Monza. Vicenzo Italiano’s side cruised to a 4-0 victory, setting up a tie with Atalanta in the quarter-final.
The Rossoblu would record an impressive 1-0 victory over Atalanta with Santiago Castro’s goal in the 80th minute setting up a tie with Empoli in the semi-final.
Manager’s thoughts
Empoli manager Roberto D’Aversa has described his side’s first-ever Coppa Italia semi-final as a “historic milestone for the city” in his pre-match press conference.
“The semi-final is a source of pride,” he said, “not only for the club and the boys, but also for a city that currently sees its team in the relegation zone: this match must serve us for everything. Italy has Bologna in the final, we must demonstrate that sometimes in football the unthinkable can happen.”
Vincenzo Italiano has urged his Bologna side to not get complacent due to their opponent’s poor league form and due to them undoubtedly being the favourites. The Italian said that his side must not make the mistake of assuming they are already in the final.
“We certainly won’t make that mistake“, he said, “Because when you get to play a semi-final… the path our opponent has taken, we can’t think that it won’t be difficult for us too”
Team news
The hosts find themselves without a number of players for Tuesday’s historic match. Ardian Ismajli, Tino Anjorin, Youssef Maleh, Pietro Pellegri, Szymon Zurkowski, Nicolas Haas, and Saba Sazanov are all unavailable.
There is only one absentee ahead of Tuesday’s first leg for Bologna. Santiago Castro has not recovered from a muscle injury he sustained on international duty so he will be unavailable.