AC Milan may not be the force of old in Italian football, but they are still a good team and they head to Empoli on Thursday evening looking to add to their decent start to the season. Since a loss on the opening day of the season, Milan have gone unbeaten in their next three games and this appears to be a good opportunity for them to make it four. Empoli started bright, but they have lost three of their last four game to leave them hanging just above the relegation zone in Serie A, a place they will not want to stay for too long. They shouldn’t have any trouble getting up for a game like this, even if AC Milan have decreased in quality over the past few years, their name should still get every single Empoli player up for the battle.

With Empoli playing at home they have a chance of causing an upset here, but AC Milan look to be playing some nice football and that should make for an entertaining game to watch on Thursday. Something else we should see in this game is goals, with AC Milan showing they have an eye for goal, and also defensive issues so far this season.

Why It May Rain Goals in Empoli on Thursday

Empoli have struggle to put the ball in the back of the net so far this season. They have scored just two goals in their last four games and when you look at that, it doesn’t scream out that they will score on Thursday. However, the strengths and weaknesses of AC Milan will help and it would be no surprise to see goals in this clash.

While Empoli have a poor goal scoring record, AC Milan are the opposite. Both teams have scored a goal in every single one of  AC Milan’s games so far this season, giving Empoli hope that they can find the back of the net against a defence that has shown great weakness and a tendancy to make silly mistakes. Three of AC Milan’s four games have had over 2.5 goals in them too, so we won’t just see the odd goal here, I think we can expect to see quite a few goals.

If you like stats and you want to believe them then this game looks like it could be full of goals based on the games AC Milan have been invovled in so far.

The Fall of AC Milan

During the 1990s, AC Milan and Italian football in general, was probably at the highest peak it has ever acheived. The league was one of the best in the world, if not the best, and the teams in it were attracting top end talent to compete against each other not only domestically, but also in Europe. This was a golden age for Italian football, and right at the centre of it all was AC Milan. They won five Serie A titles during the 90s, as well as two European Cup titles in the same decade.

The club we see today is a long way detached from that success, struggling domestically and not having any impact at all in Europe. The Italian league as a whole seems to have taken a big backward step over the past decade or so, and that is when we have seen AC Milan also move backwards, which is probably not a surprise given how important they are in the country. Now instead of winning league titles and dominating the European stage, we are seeing AC Milan struggle for European qualification, and playing Europa League games on a Thursday in some of the smallest footballing nations on the continent. It has been quite a fall from grace, and unless Italian football comes back over the next decade, it is hard to see AC Milan ever reaching the heights we saw them hit during the hay day of Italian football in the 90s.

There is no doubt that Milan are one of the most successful clubs in Italian football, with 30 domestic honours to their name as well as further wins in European competitions. They will remain a big name, and when teams play them I am sure that they will be up for the game because of the club they are playing, rather than the eleven players they are going up again. Everyone wants to beat AC Milan, and while that may make their games slightly more difficult for them, it is also a sign of recognition that the club has achieved many great things during their existence, and shows that others are envious of this.

Empoli vs AC Milan

I think we are going to see a game full of goals on Thursday when these two meet, despite Empoli struggling to find the net recently. Although they have only scored two goals in their last four games, they have a troubled defence to go against here, and one that they can take advantage of. Goal scoring doesn’t appear to be a problem for AC Milan, they have scored in every one of their games so far but while ever their defensive issues remain, they have to keep up their scoring record so there is pressure on the forwards to perform.

As far as the game goes, I think AC Milan have enough in the bag to win this one and I will be backing them to do so. They have started the season well, losing just one game and while they have drawn a couple, Empoli are not in the same class as their opponents have been so far and they can make that tell here. This is a solid AC Milan team and while it has been mentioned that they are no longer the force of old, they are a decent top half of the table team, whereas Empoli look set for a relegation battle this season, and they don’t look cut out to beat a team like Milan.

Expect goals and a good game to watch, which is not something you often say about Italian football but when the end comes I am expecting to see AC Milan have too much class for Empoli, allowing them to take home three points. A win is just what AC Milan need right now to move up the standings and build on the good start they have had.

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