By Anna Italia
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61% Ball Possession EMPOLI and 39% Ball Possession INTER
Empoli 0 – 0 Inter 
Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
Empoli, 15th position with 18 points and a negative goal difference of -6
Inter, 9th position with 25 points and a positive goal difference of +4
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | Goals | DIFF | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Inter | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 29:25 | 4 | 25 |
| 15 | Empoli | 18 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 17:23 | -6 | 18 |
It’s just a goalless draw 0 -0 between Empoli and Inter. Empoli keeping up a strong front without conceding goals after many giving Inter as favorites to win the match. Yet, Inter failing to claim the full 3 points on their quest to climb towards the top 3 positions. We might say it is a positive draw for Empoli, but not for Inter.
There are 9 precedents between Empoli vs Inter seeing Inter with 5 wins, Empoli 2 wins, and 2 draws. Last time Empoli defeated Inter was back in the 2005 – 2006 season.
Here is EMPOLI official starting lineup by coach Maurizio Sarri:
Empoli: 33 Sepe; 19 Barba, 24 Rugani, 26 Tonelli, 23 Hysaj; 88 Vecino, 6 Valdifiori, 11 Croce; 18 Verdi; 9 Mchedlidze, 20 Pucciarelli.
Here is INTER official starting lineup by coach Roberto Mancini:
Inter: 1 Handanovic; 14 Campagnaro, 15 Vidic, 23 Ranocchia, 33 D’Ambrosio; 13 Guarin, 18 Medel; 88 Hernanes, 8 Palacio, 11 Podolski; 9 Icardi.
Disciplinary situation BEFORE the game. 1 suspended player for EMPOLI: Mario Rui (1)
1 suspended player for INTER: Juan Jesus (3)
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Empoli FC Tickets
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Stats BEFORE the game. Top scorer for EMPOLI: Lorenzo Tonelli with 4 goals
Top scorer for INTER: Forward Mauro Icardi with 10 goals
| Empoli | Goals | Goals | Inter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonelli, Lorenzo | 4 | 10 | Icardi, Mauro |
| Pucciarelli, Manuel | 3 | 5 | Osvaldo, Pablo Daniel |
| Rugani, Daniele | 2 | 4 | Kovacic, Mateo |
| Maccarone, Massimo | 2 | 2 | Ranocchia, Andrea |
| Tavano, Francesco | 2 | 2 | Guarin, Fredy |
Stats. Here are the last 3 games of EMPOLI: 2 draws, 1 lost
| 11/01/15 | SA | Sampdoria – Empoli | 1:0 | Round 18 | |||
| 06/01/15 | SA | Empoli – Verona | 0:0 | Round 17 | |||
| 21/12/14 | SA | Fiorentina – Empoli | 1:1 | Round 16 |
Here are the last 3 games of INTER:
| 11/01/15 | SA | Inter – Genoa | 3:1 | Round 18 | |||
| 06/01/15 | SA | Juventus – Inter | 1:1 | Round 17 | |||
| 30/12/14 | CFG | Paris St.-Germa… – Inter | 1:0 | Friendly |
Photo: facebook.com/empolifcofficialpage
2014 – 2015 Italian Serie A Week 19
Empoli – Inter
Saturday 17January 2015
Carlo Castellani Stadium
Empoli, Italy
18:00
Referee: DOVERI
Assistants: CARIOLATO – FIORITO
Fourth Official: GIALLATINI
ADD1: ORSATO
ADD2: PAIRETTO
Goals:
Official formations – lineups:
Empoli: 33 Sepe; 19 Barba, 24 Rugani, 26 Tonelli, 23 Hysaj; 88 Vecino, 6 Valdifiori, 11 Croce; 18 Verdi; 9 Mchedlidze, 20 Pucciarelli.
Subs: 1 Pugliesi, 28 Bassi, 2 Laurini, 4 Perticone, 7 Maccarone, 8 Signorelli, 10 Tavano, 13 Laxalt, 22 Bianchetti, 27 Zielinski.
Coach: Maurizio Sarri.
Inter: 1 Handanovic; 14 Campagnaro, 15 Vidic, 23 Ranocchia, 33 D’Ambrosio; 13 Guarin, 18 Medel; 88 Hernanes, 8 Palacio, 11 Podolski; 9 Icardi.
Subs: 30 Carrizo, 46 Berni, 6 Andreolli, 10 Kovacic, 17 Kuzmanovic, 20 Obi, 22 Dodò, 25 Mbaye, 44 Krhin, 54 Donkor, 91 Shaqiri, 97 Bonazzoli.
Coach: Roberto Mancini.
Match Stats
| Empoli | Match Stats | Inter |
| 0 | Goals | 0 |
| 18(5) | Shots (on goal) | 8(1) |
| 12 | Fouls | 15 |
| 10 | Corner kicks | 3 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
| 61% | Time of Possession | 39% |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 1 | Saves | 5 |