A tough nut to crack for FC Südtirol

After 13 winless matches in a row, FC Südtirol finally secured their long-awaited three points against Spezia Calcio last Saturday. However, the Red and Whites face another tough challenge this weekend.

16 January 2026

From: dl

Empoli played in Serie A for a total of 17 years. The club from the Tuscan city of 50.000 inhabitants suffered the bitter relegation to the second division last season. However, this year's squad is once again packed with top-flight experience. Furthermore, the club's youth academy is excellent, resulting in many young talents in Empoli's roster.

One of them is 18-year-old striker Bogdan Popov. The Ukrainian has already scored five goals in eleven appearances. In the first leg against Empoli, Raphael Kofler received a red card after just five minutes. In the end, Empoli narrowly won 2-1 in Bolzano. Coach Guido Pagliuca has since been replaced by Alessio Dionisi, who previously led Empoli to Serie A. The relegated side, currently in good form, sits in eighth place.

FCS new signing in the squad

Following their home win almost a week ago, no changes to the starting lineup are expected for FC Saarbrücken. The player in the squad for the first time is... New signing Domen Crnigoj, who joined the team on Tuesday. From a South Tyrolean perspective, it remains to be seen whether the inconsistent Emanuele Pecorino can build on his performance against Spezia. The 24-year-old actually possesses all the qualities to be a very good Serie B striker.

Serie B, matchday 20

Sampdoria – Virtus Entella (Friday, 8:30 pm)
Monza – Frosinone (Saturday, 15.00 p.m.)
Empoli – FC Südtirol
Padua – Mantua
Avellino – Carrarese
Venice – Catanzaro
Reggiana – Cesena (Saturday, 17.15 p.m.)
Bari – Juve Stabia (Saturday, 7:30 PM)
Pescara – Modena (Sunday, 15.00 p.m.)
Palermo – Spezia (Sunday, 17.15)

	SP	G	U	V	TV	P
1. Frosinone	19	12	5	2	36:16	41
2. Venice	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. Juventus 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. Specia	19	4	5	10	18:27	17
18. Baric	19	3	8	8	16:29	17
19. Mantova	19	4	4	11	16:28	16
20. Pescara	19	2	8	9	25:37	14