Comments and predictions for Fiorentina vs Empoli: The dream of staying in the league is gone

Latest Fiorentina vs Empoli team information

Fiorentina have not announced whether Moise Kean will return after his surprise absence in midweek – the highly-coveted striker is believed to have flown to Paris for personal reasons.

If Kean cannot play, Lucas Beltran and Albert Gudmundsson will likely continue to pair up front, although Nicolo Zaniolo is also an option.

With a crucial week ahead – with the derby dell'Arno and the first leg of the Conference League semi-final – manager Raffaele Palladino will have a full squad at his disposal, with Andrea Colpani back in full training.

On Empoli's side, key players such as Sebastiano Esposito, Jacopo Fazzini, Emmanuel Gyasi and Saba Goglichidze will return to the squad after coach Roberto D'Aversa used many young players in the match against Bologna in Coppa Italia.

However, Empoli are still missing many key players due to injury, including Youssef Maleh, Szymon Zurkowski, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov, Pietro Pellegri and Christian Kouame - a player on loan from Fiorentina.

Centre-back Ardian Ismajli is also doubtful, while versatile New Zealand defender Liberato Cacace will miss out through suspension.

Latest expected lineup Fiorentina vs Empoli

Fiorentina:
De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Cataldi, Fagioli, Gosens; Gudmundsson, Beltran

Empoli:
Vazquez; Goglichidze, Marianucci, Viti; Gyasi, Anjorin, Grassi, Pezzella; Esposito, Fazzini; Colombo

Latest football commentary Fiorentina vs Empoli

In a match hastily postponed for two days due to the departure of Pope Francis, Fiorentina travelled to Cagliari on Wednesday evening, where they came from behind to win 2-1 in Sardinia.

Without the services of top scorer Moise Kean, Viola's attack was led by Albert Gudmundsson and Lucas Beltran, with Beltran scoring the winner after Robin Gosens equalized.

Fiorentina had already booked their place in the Conference League semi-finals with a win over Celje. The Tuscans are now fighting their way back into Europe via Serie A, but are eighth with five games remaining.

Fiorentina travel to Seville next week for the first leg of their Conference League semi-final against Real Betis, but first they need to keep up the pressure on the teams above them in Serie A.

Even fourth-placed Bologna are just four points ahead, after Raffaele Palladino's side took 11 points from their last five games to end a poor run of form earlier in the spring.

However, following a goalless draw in Serie A in September – along with a Coppa Italia defeat at home – Fiorentina are now winless in their last six meetings with familiar foes Empoli.

While the home side are in fine form, Empoli head into this derby with low confidence, having slumped in the Serie A table and exited the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Thursday.

Empoli's historic run to the Coppa Italia semi-finals, which included dramatic penalty shootout wins over Fiorentina and Juventus, ended with a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Bologna.

This defeat did not cause much surprise, because coach Roberto D'Aversa used many young players in both matches, showing that his biggest priority is the Serie A relegation battle.

When Empoli met Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia nearly five months ago, they were 10th and looked safe. Now they have traded safety for crisis.

After 17 consecutive matches without a win in Serie A, along with a 2-2 draw against Venezia last weekend, Empoli are currently in the relegation zone, although they are only one point behind Lecce – the team in 17th place.

Therefore, the chance of staying in the league is still there, especially if they can once again shock Fiorentina right at Franchi, as they did in the first leg.

Latest score prediction Fiorentina vs Empoli

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Fiorentina vs Empolias follows:

• Sportsmole:Fiorentina 2-1 Empoli

• WhoScore:Fiorentina 2-0 Empoli
• Our newspaper predicts:Fiorentina 2-0 Empoli

When and where to watch Fiorentina vs Empoli live?

To watch the live match Fiorentina vs Empoli in Serie A taking place at 8:00 p.m. on April 27, viewers can watch on TVK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.