Coppa Italia quarter-final line-ups: Juventus vs. Empoli | OneFootball

Juventus experiment for the first time with Randal Kolo Muani and Dusan Vlahovic together in the Coppa Italia quarter-final against Empoli.

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 20.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

The winner will go on to face Bologna in the semi-final, while the other fixture is already between Inter and Milan.

If the score is level after 90 minutes, it will go directly to a penalty shoot-out rather than extra time.

Juve won this trophy last season, just hours before sacking coach Max Allegri, and it is now their only shot at silverware after crashing out of the Champions League play-offs to PSV Eindhoven.

Coach Thiago Motta makes a radical change, starting Kolo Muani and Vlahovic together for the first time, also supported by Weston McKennie and Nico Gonzalez.

There is an injury crisis in defence, missing Renato Veiga, Pierre Kalulu, Niccolò Savona, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, while Andrea Cambiaso is not at 100 per cent either.

Another surprise has Teun Koopmeiners rather than Manuel Locatelli in midfield with Khephren Thuram.

EMPOLI, ITALY – JANUARY 11: Sebastiano Esposito of Empoli FC in action during the Serie A match between Empoli and Lecce at Stadio Carlo Castellani on January 11, 2025 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Empoli are surprise qualifiers for the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, especially as they are coming off four consecutive Serie A defeats.

That includes 4-1 to Juventus on February 2 and most recently a 5-0 home loss to Atalanta.

They have not even scored in their last three fixtures and the most recent victory was 4-1 away to Verona on December 8, followed by two draws and nine defeats.

Empoli qualified by eliminating Catanzaro, Torino and then needing penalties to beat Fiorentina in the Round of 16 following a 2-2 thriller.

There is a lengthy absentee list including Tino Anjorin, Ardian Ismajli, Jacopo Fazzini, Mattia Viti, Ola Solbakken, Nicolas Haas, Tyronne Ebuehi, Saba Sazonov and Pietro Pellegri.

The amount of squad rotation is evident in the presence of 18-year-old Ismael Konate upfront with Lorenzo Colombo.

Juventus: Perin; Weah, Gatti, Kelly, Cambiaso; Koopmeiners, K Thuram; Kolo Muani, McKennie, Nico Gonzalez; Vlahovic

Empoli: Vasquez; Marianucci, Ismajli, Tosto; Sambia, Bacci, Henderson, Maleh, Cacace; Konate; Colombo

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