Napoli vs. Empoli 12/12/21 Serie A Soccer Pick, Predictions, and Odds

Napoli is hosting Empoli at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in round 17 of the Italian Serie A. Napoli might have lost the top spot, but they are still in this competition, and after beating Leicester, their confidence is high. Empoli is undefeated in their last 3 games, they are playing much better soccer, and they are far away from the relegation zone.

Napoli is now in 3^rd place with 36 points, which is 3 points less than Milan has at the top, but Napoli has been the best team in the league overall so far this season. Napoli has scored 34 goals in 16 games, and Mertens, Osimhen, Zielinski, and Ruiz are their leading goalscorers with 5 goals each, while Insigne added 4 goals and 5 assists. Osimhen is injured, and he will miss this game. Napoli is an incredibly versatile team, and they have done a great job against Leicester in the Europa League earlier this week. Napoli has won that match 3-2, and because of it, they have qualified for the next stage. Now that the Europa League is done for this year, Napoli has 3 games left to play this year, and one of them is against Milan, and that one will be a treat.

Empoli has been slowly waking up, they are playing well right now, but I’m not sure they have the depth to keep this going for much longer. As I’ve mentioned, Empoli is undefeated in their last 3 games, and they have scored 7 goals during that stretch. Offensively, Empoli is great, but their defense is just crap. With 23 points, Empoli is now in 11^th place, but I think we can expect them to end the season somewhere closer to the relegation zone. Pinamonti is the leading goalscorer for Empoli with 6 goals, while Bajrami added 3 assists. I’m not trying to sell Empoli short, and I’m glad they are doing well right now, but I know it’s not gonna last because none of the small teams can keep up with the big boys in the long run, and that is just a fact, but good job from Empoli, and I hope they stay in the league.

I’m looking at this matchup, and I see goals, but I also see Napoli winning this game because even though Empoli is solid in the attacking end, there is no way they can keep up with Napoli. I’m taking Napoli and goals in this one.