Empoli vs. Lazio 8/21/21 Serie A Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Empoli is hosting Lazio at Carlo Castellani in round 1 of the Italian Serie A. Empoli is the newcomer to Serie A, but they have been solid in their 3 preseason games. Lazio has made some changes in their roster, starting with the head coach, and they have been great in the preseason.

Empoli has qualified for Serie A after winning the title in Serie B last season, but it was a tight race. In their Coppa Italia match against Vicenza last week, Empoli was playing that game at home, and they have won that match 4-2. The biggest name in Empoli is definitely Partick Cutrone, former Milan, Wolverhampton, and Fiorentina striker who kind of fell of the map after he left Milan back in 2019. Empoli is a decent team, and winning Serie B certainly gives them some advantage over other weak teams in Serie A, but I don’t think Empoli can do much more than fight to stay out of the relegation zone and to stay in Serie A for another season after this.

Lazio has played 5 games in their preseason, and they have won 3 of those while tying 2 games. Pedro is definitely the biggest signing for Lazio this offseason, but they have also signed Anderson from West Ham, and Hysaj from Napoli. The good news is they were able to keep all of their key players for another season. Lazio also has a new head coach, and that is Maurizio Sarri, and he is a great coach who will get the maximum out of these players. In my opinion, I think Lazio has improved a lot compared to last season, but we will see if they can stay consistent. Cataldi, Mestro, and Adekanye are all injured for Lazio. With 68 points, Lazio has ended last season in 6^th place, and they will be playing in the Europa League, but their defense has been terrible and that is something coach Sarri will need to fix as soon as possible. The schedule is not bad for Lazio at the start of the season, and I think they will do much better this season, but as I’ve mentioned, their defense has to improve.

Empoli hasn’t won any of their last 5 games against Lazio, while Lazio hasn’t won any of their last 4 games. Empoli hasn’t lost any of their last 25 home games. I think this will be a good game just because neither team is focused on the defense, and I think we will see some goals, but I will take Lazio on the money line.