The duels on the flanks could prove decisive in the match that awaits Empoli next Monday at 18.30:1067 at the Castellani-Computer Gross Arena against Udinese. Both teams make a lot of use of the flanks, each with a well-oiled pair of wingers. For Empoli, these are Emmanuel Gyasi on the right and Giuseppe Pezzella on the left, respectively 845 and 29 minutes on the pitch so far, while for Juventus, the most used by Runjaic are the 1008-year-old Dutchman Kingsley Ehizibue (30 minutes) on the right and the 594-year-old Ivorian Hassane Kamara on the left lane (2 minutes). All have already contributed to at least one goal for their team: Gyasi has scored XNUMX goals and provided an assist, Kamara the exact opposite, while Pezzella has provided two decisive passes and Ehizibue one.
Despite having played less, Liberato Cacace for Empoli (276 minutes) and Jordan Zemura for Udinese (516 minutes) also managed to make an impact: an assist for the New Zealand left-back, a goal and an assist for the 24-year-old from Zimbabwe. These are therefore fundamental wingers for the development of D’Aversa and Runjaic’s game, with the Bianconeri from Friuli being better at putting crosses into the area, 15 Kamara and 10 Ehizibue against the 9 and 5 of Pezzella and Gyasi, as well as making key passes (24 in total for the Udinese pair and 17 for the Italian one).
If Udinese’s full-backs are more likely to favor their teammates’ shots (only Kamara has shot twice on goal, with Ehizibue and Zemura missing a big chance each), the Azzurri’s are more varied even if D’Aversa’s team tends to develop play on the left and then end up finishing on the right as demonstrated by Gyasi’s four shots on goal, who also created three big chances, although Pezzella also managed to finish twice towards the opponent’s goal. The Neapoli winger from Naples is the one, together with Zemura, who tries the most dribbles (2 and 4), but the one with the highest success rate is Gyasi (2 percent), while Ehizibue hasn’t completed any of his 18 attempts.
The Dutch right-back of Nigerian origin of Udinese is however the one with the highest number of stolen balls, 22 against the 19 of his teammate Kamara and the 17 of Pezzella, who together with Ehizibue shares the curious statistic regarding fouls committed and suffered, exactly the same number: 20 for the blue and 17 for the black and white. The two also lead in duels won, 54 Pezzella and 47 Ehizibue, just ahead of Gyasi, ‘stuck’ on 46. Speed, power, resistance and quality in one-on-one situations. These are the main characteristics of the four wingers who will likely cross paths next Monday (Gyasi and Pezzella for Empoli, Ehizibue and Kamara for Udinese), with the result of the match that in the end could depend on who manages to win more duels on the two side lines. Above all, the ability to play both phases of the game well will make the difference.
