It might be a little early to start talking about must win games and relegation six pointers, but I think that's exactly what we have in Italy on Friday night, with the bottom two clubs in Serie A going head to head. Salernitana, currently bottom, are the hosts, with Empoli, one place above in 19th, the visitors, and three massive points are at stake.
Salernitana Form Guide15 games to go in the league season, and Salernitana are five points from safety. They've still only won two games all season, and it's becoming a crucial time for them. They don't get any bigger than this, a chance to close the gap and beat a relegation rival in one game, the pressure is on.
They come into this game on the back of a draw last week, picking up a point in a 0-0 away game against Torino, a solid point, and certainly something they can build off. But it was four defeats in a row before that, and in bizarre fashion, they all come with a losing score of 2-1.
Empoli Form GuideOne place above in the standings, but a whole lot closer to safety, Empoli are in 19th and only goal difference away from survival right now. But their goal difference is so bad, it's effectively a point they need, to get up and safe. They're coming to life at a crucial time too, and come into this game unbeaten in their last three league games.
The last two have been draws, most recently a 0-0 home draw with Genoa and before that, an excellent 1-1 away draw at Juventus. In their game before that, they recorded a vital win to get three points on the board, beating Monza 3-0, so it's been a really nice run recently.
Match PredictionThis is such a big game at the bottom of Serie A, and one where I am choosing Empoli to come out on top. They arrive in good form, have shown glimpses of quality recently, and can get a massive three points here.
