Crunched: Empoli v Sampdoria

Ahead of Sampdoria’s Serie A opener against Empoli, we bring you all the key stats on the fixture…

This is the third time Sampdoria and Empoli will face off on the first day of Serie A. Both of the first two matches were home clashes for the Blucerchiati, with the record standing at one win apiece. Samp won 2-0 in the 1987/88 season courtesy of goals from Roberto Mancini and Toninho Cerezo, while Empoli secured a 2-1 away victory in 2006/07 despite Emiliano Bonazzoli’s goal.

Empoli are embarking on their third straight year in Serie A. If the Tuscan side can avoid relegation once again this year, they’ll set a new club record for consecutive years in Italy’s top flight.

Sampdoria finished Serie A 2015/16 on a 282-minute scoring drought, home and away. The Blucerchiati’s last Serie A goal was scored by Lorenzo De Silvestri in the 78th minute of Samp’s 2-1 win over Lazio on 24 April. The club’s last away goal was back on 3 April, as Ricky Alvarez secured a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.

Empoli boss Giovanni Martusciello will be making his managerial debut in Serie A on Sunday evening. A glance at the history books tells you that Empoli traditionally do well when their manager is making their first appearance in Serie A: out of six debutants, only Silvio Baldini – who was fired during the campaign – failed to keep Empoli in the league.

Sunday will be the first meeting between Giovanni Martusciello and Marco Giampaolo. The two worked together at Empoli last year, with Martusciello serving as Giampaolo’s assistant.

Giampaolo will be visiting his old club Empoli for the first time on Sunday, having guided them to a comfortable 13th-place finish last season. The Sampdoria coach doesn’t have the best of records against Empoli, however, having earned just one point and managed no goals in three past meetings with the club.