Coppa Italia, Semifinal, Second Leg, Thursday, 24.04.2025 at 21:00
In Italy, you can also redeem a good sports betting bonus on Thursday. After much back and forth, the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg scheduled for this day at the Renato Dall’Ara will finally take place.
According to my Bologna Empoli prediction, I don’t expect a spectacular game – quite the contrary! The tie was already decided in the first leg, so my simple “under 2.5 goals” tip could actually have excellent chances of success.
The death of the Pope has shaken the whole of Italy – and the world of soccer is also in mourning. As a sign of respect, all professional league matches scheduled for Sunday have been canceled. National mourning takes precedence, and league play is suspended.
However, the cup competition will continue during the week. The Coppa Italia knows no postponements, and so it is certain that, after lengthy debates, the two semi-final second legs will indeed be played.
Only 90 minutes separate the “Rossoblù” from their first final appearance since their triumph in 1974 – and after a confident 3-0 away win in the first leg, the odds are looking good.
Since then, Bologna has put in solid performances against Italy’s top teams: a draw against Juventus, a defeat against Milan and, most recently, an impressive 1-0 win against Inter.
This success in particular should give Vincenzo Italiano’s team additional momentum. Bologna has also impressed in the cup with its defensive stability: three wins, no goals conceded – that’s something to be proud of.
In short: it is highly unlikely that they will not reach the final!
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In fact, it would be nothing short of a miracle for Empoli to advance! In the history of the competition, Inter were the last team to come back from a 0-3 deficit in the semifinals, but they still lost on penalties.
Given their record, it’s hard to imagine Empoli getting that far: since the beginning of December, the team has only won one competitive game, and that was also on penalties.
The Rossoblù are also unbeaten at home since the beginning of the year (8 wins, 2 draws), which underlines their status as favorites, with odds of around 1.45 from all German betting providers.
Coach Italiano will face familiar faces in the semi-finals: no other opponent has drawn with him as often as Empoli – six of his eleven encounters have ended in a draw.
And given the clear starting position and the intense situation in the league, I could well imagine that neither team will want to invest too much in a victory in the semi-final second leg.
Coach Roberto D’Aversa, on the other hand, faces his personal bogey team on Thursday. In 13 attempts, he has never won against Bologna (6 draws, 7 defeats).
One player who could make the difference in the second leg is Thijs Dallinga. The striker scored two goals in the first leg and seems to have found his top form just in time.
Want to know a little-known fact? Seven of his last ten goals have come in games where he scored the equalizer – a sign of his strong nerves.
On the Empoli side, Sebastiano Esposito stands out. He likes to score away from home, but in his last four games in which he scored, he still didn’t come out on top (1 draw, 3 losses).
All of these players could score, but I personally expect a low-scoring game on Thursday.
It could indeed be 0-0 at half-time, as neither Bologna nor Empoli will want to invest too much energy.
A “goalless draw at half-time” is currently offering odds of 2.87 on the betting markets at VBET Sportsbook – not bad!
Empoli not scoring at all is another interesting value bet for this second leg, with odds of around 1.82.
Although the Azzurri’s offense was extremely productive in their recent 2-2 draw with Venice, those were their first goals after scoring just one in their previous six competitive games!
Conclusion: After the death of the Pope, many people are not really in the mood for soccer – and that is likely to be particularly noticeable in a game like this.
Bologna has already done all the hard work with a clear 3-0 win in the first leg and will probably not want to take any unnecessary risks.
Empoli, on the other hand, has long since turned its focus to the relegation battle in the league and is also unlikely to take too many risks.
So there is a lot to suggest a tough game with a modest tempo and few highlights.
My Bologna Empoli tip: Under 2.5 goals.
