Empoli v Roma: Three opposition players to watch

Winless in their last seven games, Empoli will be looking to turn their fortunes around and ruin Roma’s five-game Serie A winning streak in the process.

Wayne Girard picks out three opposition players we’ll need to keep an eye on…

Leandro Paredes

The 21-year-old Argentinean, on loan from Roma, has clearly benefitted from more playing time with the Azzurri - even drawing comparisons to Andrea Pirlo. Most commonly deployed as a regista this season, Paredes has delivered almost three long balls per match, has scored two goals, set up two more and put in an average of two-and-a-half tackles per match. His passing has also been fantastic- 909 passes completed this season with a pass accuracy of 83%, of which 82% were forward passes.

Massimo Maccarone

The 36-year-old center forward seems to keep getting better with age. Having made his name at Siena, where he scored 70 goals between 2007 and 2010, Big Mac is the most dangerous attacker in Empoli’s lineup. He has 11 goals and three assists this season, with manager Marco Giampaolo giving him full faith with 25 starts. Maccarone is just as capable of curling shots from outside the box into the net as he is of turning poacher from five yards out.

Piotr Zielinski

The 21-year-old Polish midfielder has already made 24 appearances this season for the Azzurri. A central midfielder that likes to join the attack, Zielinski has three goals and four assists in Serie A. His game benefits from his link-up play with teammate Maccarone, as he prefers to play the long ball or chipped through ball to the centre forward. Zielinski’s speed is also a decisive quality of his, as he frequently makes off-the-ball runs, pressing into the opponent’s defence. Roma will have to be wary of his energy and hope to limit his impact come Saturday.