Empoli v Atalanta Betting Tips: Visitors to wrap up 5th ahead of the final day

May 19 2017
May 19 2017
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Unlike several of the fixtures on Serie A’s penultimate weekend, this fixture between Empoli and Atalanta is important for both. The hosts are fighting against relegation and need all the points they can get, while Atalanta will be looking for a result that would secure them a top five spot with a game to spare.

Although Empoli have just about been keeping their head above water of late, they’re fancied to find life tough against an Atalanta side who’ve been one of a Serie A’s most solid outfits over the course of the campaign. At the prices, siding with the visitors on the ‘Draw No Bet’ market is the way to go here.

This season, having scored 60 goals, Atalanta have certainly been effective going forward, but it has been their performances at the other end of the pitch that have stood out most. Having conceded 41 goals, Sunday’s visitors currently boast the fourth-best defensive record in the division. In addition, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have been up there with the best in Serie A when it comes shutting out the opposition. With 14 clean sheets to their name, only league leaders and likely champions Juventus have prevented their opponents from finding the net more times than Atalanta have.

The visitors away record in general is also fairly impressive having lost just five of their 18 travelling matches this season, while they come into this particular fixture in good shape. Atalanta are unbeaten in their last eight in the league and have secured some very useful points in tough games against the likes of Juventus and AC Milan recently. Such experiences bode well ahead of a game against an Empoli side who’re certainly not the most threatening going forward and you can’t help but feel that if Atalanta can continue to keep things tight at the back, then the victory is very much there for the taking.

As far as Empoli are concerned, although they’re currently above the dreaded drop-zone by a single point, it’s been a poor campaign, one that has seem them fail to fire going forward. Having conceded 58 goals, defence has certainly been a problem, but the fact that they’ve scored just 28 times – less than any other Serie A side – has been their biggest downfall. It is indeed this lack of firepower that makes it hard to feel optimistic about their chances of success against a more than useful defensive outfit.

The hosts may well have scored a few goals at home of late – found the net in each of their last four home matches – but they’ve won just once in their last seven at Stadio Carlo Castellani, while their record against the top teams is worrying. In five home matches against the current top six, Empoli have picked up no wins and just one draw.

All in all, given the overall profile of this pair, it’s easy to envisage both the visitors enjoying a decent afternoon and the hosts struggling to come up with the goods. At 5/4, backing the Atalanta with the ‘Draw No Bet’ insurance is too hard to resist.

All of our current tips can be found here.

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