Coppa Italia, Juventus-Empoli on TV: where to watch it, time and probable formations

Turin, 25 February 2025 - Juventus and Empoli are battling it out for a place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals. The quarter-finals between the Bianconeri and the Azzurri will take place at the Allianz Stadium. The Old Lady made their debut in the competition by eliminating Cagliari in the last round, defeating them with a clear 4-0. The Tuscans' journey began on 10 August, when they beat Catanzaro 4-1 in the first round. Then it was Turin 's turn (2-1 defeat) and Fiorentina (eliminated after the penalty shootout) to make way for the team led by Roberto D'Aversa . The winner of the match will face Bologna.

The precedents

The next one will be the 35th meeting between Juventus and Empoli in all competitions: 24 wins for the Bianconeri, five for the Tuscans and five draws so far. Among the teams faced at least 20 times in the last 40 years (since 1986, the date of the first meeting between the two teams), only against Chievo (74%) do the Piedmontese boast a higher percentage of all-comps wins than against the Azzurri (71%). The only occasion in which Juventus and Empoli faced each other in the Coppa Italia dates back to 2007/08, when in the round of 16 Madama won with an overall score of 6-5 (2-1 for the Tuscans in the first leg and 5-3 in favor of the Old Lady in the return leg). Juventus have scored 57 goals in the last 26 meetings with Empoli in all competitions (an average of 2.2 per game); in the 2000s only against Sassuolo (2.3) did the black and white team have a higher goal average than against the Tuscans (2.2, precisely) among the opponents faced on more than 10 occasions in all competitions. In the last match between Juventus and Empoli (4-1 for the Turin team in Serie A, last February 2), both teams found the net; the last time in which both teams found the net in more than one game in a row dates back to the two 2007/08 Coppa Italia matches, valid for the round of 16 (2-1 in the first leg for the Tuscans, 5-3 for the black and whites in the return leg). Empoli are one of four Italian teams, along with Inter (twice), Napoli and Sassuolo, to have managed to score at least four goals in a single match against Juventus in all competitions over the last five seasons (since 2020/21): the Tuscan team achieved this in a 4-1 home win on 22 May 2023 in Serie A.

The curiosities

Madama have progressed once having reached the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia in each of the last five editions (from 2019/20 to 2023/24): the last time the Bianconeri were eliminated in the quarter-finals dates back to the 2018/19 season (3-0 defeat in Bergamo against Atalanta). Juventus have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Coppa Italia matches, including the two most recent (against Atalanta and Cagliari); overall, the Bianconeri have not collected more consecutive clean sheets in the competition since the period between May 2017 and January 2019 (seven in that case, with Massimiliano Allegri on the bench). The Old Lady are the team that has reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia the most times overall: 36 so far in 77 previous editions of the competition (at least seven more than any other team – Inter follows with 29). After losing to Fiorentina in March 2015 (1-2), the Bianconeri have not lost any of their next 24 home matches in the Coppa Italia: 21 wins and three draws for the Bianconeri, keeping 14 clean sheets in that period; overall, this is the longest unbeaten home streak in the competition. Juventus have won their last three home games in all competitions (3W); the Bianconeri have not won in a row in front of their fans since the period between December 2023 and January 2024 (five in that case). Empoli were eliminated the last time they participated in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, losing 4-0 on aggregate to Inter in the 2006/07 edition (2-0 for the Nerazzurri in both the first and second legs). The Tuscan team could become the 41st different team to reach the penultimate stage of the competition. The Azzurri have remained unbeaten in each of their last three Coppa Italia games (W2 D1); the last time the Tuscan team did better in a single edition of the tournament dates back to 2002/03 (four in that case, the result of three wins and a draw). Empoli have never repeated the same result in their last seven Coppa Italia away games (W3 D1 L3), drawing in the most recent one (2-2 against Fiorentina in regulation time in the previous round, before prevailing in the penalty shootout). Juventus were the team that had the most shots in the round of 16 of the 2024/25 Coppa Italia: 27, against Cagliari (Atalanta are second with 17, against Cesena). On the other hand, on the other side, Empoli (15) are the team that conceded the most shots in the last round of the tournament among those who qualified for the quarter-finals. The Old Lady have scored 18 goals since the last edition of the Coppa Italia (from 2023/24), at least three more than any other team in the tournament in this period. Madama are the only Serie A team to have scored a goal from a direct free kick in this Coppa Italia ( Teun Koopmeiners against Cagliari, in the previous round). Nine of Juventus' last 10 goals in home matches in all competitions have come in the second half. On the other hand, Empoli have conceded a total of 31 goals in the second half of play this season: a negative record in all competitions for teams in Serie A and Serie B 2024/25. Empoli are the team with the most players with at least two goals scored in this edition of the Coppa Italia (two goals each, for Emmanuel Ekong, Jacopo Fazzini and Sebastiano Esposito ). Juventus, on the other hand, has four different scorers in this tournament ( Dusan Vlahovic, Francisco Conceicao, Nicolás Gonzalez and Teun Koopmeiners). Empoli is the team that has made the most defensive clearances in the round of 16 of the 2024/25 Coppa Italia, including 15 headers, another record at this stage of the current tournament.

The probable formations

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Perin; Weah, Gatti, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez; Kolo Muani. Coach: Thiago Motta.

Empoli (3-4-2-1): Vasquez; De Sciglio, Goglichidze, Cacace; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Pezzella; Esposito, Kouamé; Colombo. Coach: D'Aversa.

The arbitral designation

Francesco Fourneau of Roma 1 will be the referee of Juventus-Empoli. Alessio Berti of Prato and Damiano Di Iorio of Vco will be the assistants; Ermanno Feliciani of Teramo will be the fourth official; Francesco Meraviglia of Pistoia will be the VAR and Paolo Mazzoleni of Bergamo will be the Avar.

Time and where to watch the match

Juventus-Empoli is scheduled for Wednesday 26 February , with kick-off set for 21:00. The match will be broadcast live and exclusively on Canale Cinque. It will also be possible to watch the match in streaming on sportmediaset.it and on Mediaset Infinity.

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