Nicolas Haas played with Empoli for a long time in Serie A. © Empoli FC
After 13 games without a win in a row, FC Südtirol finally achieved the long-awaited three points against Spezia Calcio last Saturday. However, the next difficult task awaits the white-reds this weekend.
16 January 2026
From: dl
Empoli played in Serie A for a total of 17 years. The club from the city of 50,000 inhabitants in Tuscany suffered bitter relegation to the second division last season. This year the squad is once again full of first division experience. The club’s youth work is also excellent, which is why there are many young talents in Empoli’s squad.
One of them is 18-year-old attacker Bogdan Popov. The Ukrainian has already scored five times in eleven appearances. In the first leg against Empoli, Raphael Kofler was shown the red card after just five minutes. In the end, Empoli happily won 2-1 in Bolzano. Coach Guido Pagliuca has now been replaced by Alessio Dionisi, who has already led Empoli to Serie A once. The in-form relegated team is currently in eighth place.
FCS newcomer to the squad
At the FCS, after the home win almost a week ago, basically no changes are expected in the starting eleven. New signing Domen Crnigoj, who joined the team on Tuesday, is in the squad for the first time. From a South Tyrolean perspective, we can only hope that the inconsistent Emanuele Pecorino can build on his performance against Spezia. The 24-year-old actually has all the skills to be a very good Serie B striker.
Serie B, matchday 20
Sampdoria – Virtus Entella (Friday, 8.30 p.m.)
Monza – Frosinone (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
Empoli – FC South Tyrol
Padua – Mantua
Avellino – Carrarese
Venice – Catanzaro
Reggiana – Cesena (Samstag, 5.15pm)
Bari – Juve Stabia (Saturday, 7.30 p.m.)
Pescara – Modena (Sunday, 3 p.m.)
Palermo – Spezia (Sunday, 5.15 p.m.)
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Frosinone | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 36:16 | 41 |
| 2. Venezia | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 34:15 | 38 |
| 3. Monza | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 27:15 | 37 |
| 4. Palermo | 19 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 29:14 | 34 |
| 5. Catanzaro | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 26:21 | 31 |
| 6. Cesena | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 25:21 | 31 |
| 7. Modena | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 26:17 | 29 |
| 8. Empoli | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 26:24 | 27 |
| 9. Juve Stabia | 19 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 21:22 | 27 |
| 10. Padova | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19:20 | 25 |
| 11. Avellino | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 23:31 | 25 |
| 12. Carrarese | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 25:29 | 23 |
| 13. Reggiana | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 23:28 | 20 |
| 14. FC South Tyrol | 19 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 18:22 | 19 |
| 15. Virtus Entella | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 17:26 | 19 |
| 16. Sampdoria | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19:27 | 17 |
| 17. Spice | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 18:27 | 17 |
| 18. Bari | 19 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 16:29 | 17 |
| 19. Mantua | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16:28 | 16 |
| 20. Pescara | 19 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 25:37 | 14 |
