AC Milan take on Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in Serie A’s early kick-off today, in what is their first league game of the new year.
Milan have not lost to Empoli since April 2017, when the Tuscans beat Milan 2-1 at the San Siro. To find the last time Empoli beat the Rossoneri at home, you would have to go back to January 1986.
If you fancy a flutter on the game, try Virginia sportsbooks available online. You can read our pre-match preview here, while below are the best stats ahead of the game…
➤ Empoli have drawn nine of their 30 previous encounters against Milan in Serie A (W3 L18); only against two teams have they drawn more often in the to-flight: Udinese (10) and Torino (11).
➤ Milan are the team that have scored the most away goals against Empoli in Serie A (29 goals) and the one that have played the most matches without ever losing at the Tuscan team’s home in the competition (P15 W8 D7).
➤ Empoli are the team that have earned the fewest points in home matches this season (5) and have scored the fewest goals in home games (5).
➤ In the big five European Leagues in 2023, only Almería (24) lost more matches than Empoli (20); only in one other calendar year have the Tuscan side lost as many Serie A games (20 in 2016).
➤ Empoli are the team that failed to score in the most different Serie A matches in 2023 (18), and only in 2016 did they do so more often in the competition (21).
➤ Milan have won four of their last six Serie A games (D1 L1), following a series of four matches without a win in the league (D2 L2). Indeed, the Rossoneri have kept clean sheets in two of their last three league matches, as many as in their previous eight.
➤ Milan have not won in four away league matches (D3 L1), they last had a longer such run since a series of six away games without a win, recorded in 2017 with Vincenzo Montella as coach (D4 L2).
➤ 20% of the goals scored by Empoli this season have come from own goals (2/10, including the most recent by Hamza Rafia); in a single Serie A season, no team has had such a high percentage.
➤ Empoli are the team against which Olivier Giroud has played the most minutes without scoring in Serie A (266 minutes in 4 matches) – among players who have scored this season, the Milan striker is the oldest (born 30th September 1986).
➤ Nicolò Cambiaghi (34) is the player who has attempted the most shots without scoring in Serie A this season; the Empoli player has not scored since last May, when he netted a goal in three consecutive matches, against Salernitana, Bologna, and Sassuolo (21 games since then).
