Cup Preview: Juventus vs Empoli

Juventus FC

·25 de febrero de 2025

Cup Preview: Juventus vs Empoli

Juventus face Empoli for a second time this month, this time for a spot in the last four of this season's Coppa Italia.

Ahead of the 21:00 CET match-up at Allianz Stadium, here's your pre-match preview:

Head-to-head

This match will be the 35th meeting between Juventus and Empoli in all competitions: the Bianconeri have 24 wins to their name, with five victories for the Tuscans and five draws to date. Of the teams that have faced each other at least 20 times over the last 40 years (since 1986, when the two teams first met), only against Chievo (74%) do the Bianconeri boast a higher success rate than against the Azzurri (71%).
The only time Juventus and Empoli faced each other in the Coppa Italia was in 2007/08, when in the Round of 16 the Bianconeri won by an aggregate score of 6-5 (2-1 to the Tuscans in the first leg and 5-3 in favour of the Bianconeri in the return).
Juventus have scored 57 goals in their last 26 encounters against Empoli in all competitions (an average of 2.2 per game): since the year 2000, only against Sassuolo (2.3) do the Bianconeri have a higher goal average than against the Tuscans among the opponents they have faced on more than 10 occasions across all competitions.
Juventus have lost just one of their 17 home games against Empoli counting all competitions (14W, 2D): 1-0 in Serie A, on 28 August 2021.
Juve were the team that took the most shots on goal in the Round of 16 of the 2024/25 Coppa Italia: 27, against Cagliari (second was Atalanta with 17, against Cesena). Conversely, Empoli (15) were the team that suffered the most shots in the last round of the tournament among those that qualified for the quarter-finals.

Interesting Facts

Juventus are the team that has reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia the most: no fewer than 36 semi-final appearances so far in 77 previous editions of the competition (at least seven more than any other side - Inter follow at 29).
The Bianconeri have scored 18 goals since the last edition of the Coppa Italia (since 2023/24), at least three more than any other team in the tournament.
Juventus have progressed after reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia in all the last five editions (from 2019/20 to 2023/24): the last time the Bianconeri were eliminated in the quarter-finals was in the 2018/19 season (3-0 defeat in Bergamo against Atalanta).
Since their defeat against Fiorentina in March 2015 (1-2), Juventus did not lose in any of their next 24 home matches in the Coppa Italia: 21 victories and three draws for the Bianconeri, keeping their goal unbeaten 14 times in this period, making it the longest unbeaten streak at home in the competition.
Empoli are unbeaten in each of their last three Coppa Italia matches (2W, 1D); the last time the Tuscan side did better in a single edition of the tournament was in 2002/03 (four in that case, the result of three wins and a draw).

Player Numbers

Since his debut season in the competition (2019/20), Dusan Vlahovic has scored nine goals in the Coppa Italia – no player has more goals than him in this period in the tournament (Gianluca Scamacca is also at nine). The Serbian is Juventus' top scorer in all competitions this season with 14 goals to his name (at least eight more than any other team-mate).
Kenan Yilidiz has scored in three competitions in which Juventus has taken part this season (four goals in Serie A, one in the Champions League and one in the Italian Super Cup) - should he score in this match, the Turk would become the only member of his team to score in each of the four competitions in which Juve has taken part so far this season.
Timothy Weah is one of three Juventus players, along with Dusan Vlahovic (16) and Kenan Yildiz (10) with at least 10 goals and assists combined this season, counting all competitions. Against Empoli, the American provided the last of his four assists so far this season (on 2 February, for one of Kolo Muani's goals).
In the Round of 16, Francisco Conceicao was the player who attempted the most shots (seven, one more than team-mate Dusan Vlahovic), completed the most dribbles (five) and played the most balls into the opponent's penalty area (15).
Manuel Locatelli has completed 1922 passes across all competitions this season - only Marten de Roon (2161) has more among Serie A midfielders this campaign.

Opposition Focus

Of all Serie A players with at least 10 goals across all competitions this season, Sebastiano Esposito is the youngest: eight goals in Serie A and two in the Coppa Italia for the player born in 2002, who could become the first player born in the 2000s to surpass 10 goals in a season with Empoli. The last player to surpass this threshold with the Azzurri was Andrea Pinamonti in 2021/22 (13).
Lorenzo Colombo has already been involved in eight goals across all competitions this season (six goals and two assists, as in 2022/23) and has never done better in the shirt of a Serie A club since making his debut in the top-flight with AC Milan in 2019/20.
Christian Kouame is the only player currently in Empoli's squad to boast more than one goal against Juventus across all competitions (two, with the shirts of Genoa in October 2019 and Fiorentina in September 2022). Overall, also taking into account assists, the Bianconeri are the Italian side against whom the striker has been involved in the most goals (four, the result of two goals and two assists in nine matches).
Both Christian Kouame (three appearances and two goals with the Genoa shirt in 2019/20) and Emmanuel Gyasi (36 games played and six goals with Spezia in 2021/22) were coached in Serie A by Thiago Motta, who they will meet again as an opponent in this match. Notably, the current Juventus coach is the coach under whose guidance Gyasi has scored the most goals in the Italian top flight (six, in fact).
Luca Marianucci is the Empoli player who has made the most passes in this Coppa Italia (124); moreover, among his teammates, he is the one who has intercepted the most balls (nine) and blocked the most shots (four) in this tournament.