Serie A will close out the year with Round 19 before a two-week break. It will start Tuesday with Udinese looking to maintain their recent momentum against Salernitana, which are in total disarray. That is if the game is even played, as the Granata are dealing with COVID concerns. Juventus could get their fourth win in the last five matchdays against Cagliari, which are falling apart after two straight 0-4 losses and culled two veterans. Atalanta will try to shake off the Roma beating in a favorable matchup against Genoa, which have not turned the corner despite the coaching change.
No head-to-head clashes atop of the standings in this matchday. Inter will attempt to extend their winning streak, and their lead, in a home contest against the plucky Torino, which are generally better on their own turf than on the road. Milan will face a side with a different style but equally dangerous as they will visit Empoli, which have not lost in five tilts and won three of them. After besting the Rossoneri, Napoli could keep it up as they will face Spezia at home, which are struggling to find a way out of their slump. Roma will meet the seesawing Sampdoria, with José Mourinho hunting for his third consecutive victory.
Lazio are looking to get right on the road, but they will have to deal with the pesky Venezia that already blindsided a big team or two in front of their crowd. Sassuolo-Bologna and Verona-Fiorentina complete the slate in what should be two fast-paced contests. Dusan Vlahovic will have the opportunity to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in Serie A in a calendar year.
On top of the usual ones in previous matches, a few more stars will be sidelined for this one. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is out because of a knee injury, while Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne have tested positive for COVID.
GENOA-ATALANTA
Genoa (3-5-2): Sirigu; Biraschi, Bani, Vasquez; Cambiaso, Portanova, Badelj, Sturaro, Criscito; Ekuban, Destro.
Ruled Out: Rovella, Caicedo, Maksimovic (thigh strains), Fares (calf strains), Vanheusden (thigh injury).
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Musso; Djimsiti, Demiral, Palomino; Hateboer, Koopmeiners, Freuler, Zappacosta; Malinovskyi, Miranchuk; Zapata.
Ruled Out: Gosens (thigh strain), Toloi (thigh injury), Maehle (toe fracture).
JUVENTUS-CAGLIARI
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Arthur, Rabiot; Bernardeschi, Morata, Kean.
Ruled Out: Chiesa, Danilo (thigh strains), Dybala, Ramsey (thigh injuries), Chiellini.
Cagliari (4-4-2): Cragno; Zappa, Ceppitelli, Carboni, Lykogiannis; Bellanova, Deiola, Grassi, Dalbert; Joao Pedro, Pereiro.
Ruled Out: Strootman (knee surgery), Rog (ACL tear), Walukiewicz (femoroacetabular impingement).
Suspensions: Marin.
SASSUOLO-BOLOGNA
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Frattesi, Maxime Lopez, Traorè; Berardi, Scamacca, Raspadori.
Potential changes: Muldur/Toljan, Chiriches/Ayhan, Raspadori/Boga.
Ruled Out: Djuricic (thigh injury), Obiang (pneumonia), Romagna (patellar tendon tear), Schiappacasse (ACL tear), Matheus Henrique (calf injury).
Bologna (3-4-2-1): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Dominguez, Svanberg, Hickey; Soriano, Barrow; Arnautovic.
Potential changes: De Silvestri/Skov Olsen, Hickey/Dijks, Barrow/Orsolini.
Questionable: De Silvestri (muscle fatigue).
Ruled Out: Schouten (thigh injury), Kingsley (fibula fracture).
VENEZIA-LAZIO
Venezia (4-3-3): Romero; Ebuehi, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Mazzocchi; Ampadu, Vacca, Busio; Aramu, Henry, Kiyine.
Potential changes: Mazzocchi/Haps, Ampadu/Crnigoj, Busio/Johnsen.
Questionable: Okereke (thigh strain), Haps (muscle fatigue), Modolo (thigh contracture).
Ruled Out: Lezzerini (back injury).
Lazio (4-3-3): Strakosha; Lazzari, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Pedro, Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni.
Potential changes: Lazzari/Radu, Milinkovic-Savic/Basic, Felipe Anderson/Muriqi.
Questionable: Hysaj (thigh muscle fatigue).
Ruled Out: Immobile (COVID).
INTER-TORINO
Inter (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Dzeko, Lautaro Martinez.
Potential changes: Bastoni/Dimarco, Gagliardini/Vidal, Dzeko/Alexis Sanchez.
Questionable: Darmian (thigh injury).
Ruled Out: Correa (thigh injury), Eriksen (heart issues).
Torino (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Bremer, Rodriguez; Singo, Pobega, Lukic, Vojvoda; Linetty, Brekalo; Sanabria.
Potential changes: Rodriguez/Buongiorno, Vojvoda/Ansaldi, Linetty/Pjaca.
Questionable: Praet (thigh injury).
Ruled Out: Belotti, Verdi (thigh strains), Edera (ACL tear), Baselli (coach’s decision).
ROMA-SAMPDORIA
Roma (3-5-2): Rui Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Veretout, Cristante, Mkhitaryan, Vina; Zaniolo, Abraham.
Potential changes: Smalling/Kumbulla, Cristante/Diawara.
Questionable: El Shaarawy (calf strain).
Ruled Out: Pellegrini (thigh strain), Spinazzola (Achilles tendon tear).
Sampdoria (4-4-2): Falcone; Bereszynski, Yoshida, Colley, Augello; Candreva, Adrien Silva, Ekdal, Thorsby; Caputo, Quagliarella.
Potential changes: Bereszynski/Dragusin, Augello/Murru, Caputo/Gabbiadini.
Questionable: Gabbiadini (knee soreness).
Doubtful: Torregrossa (calf injury), Audero (thigh injury).
Ruled Out: Damsgaard (thigh strain), Ihattaren (personal), Verre (thigh injury), Vieira (foot fracture), Verre (thigh injuries).
VERONA-FIORENTINA
Verona (3-4-2-1): Montipò; Sutalo, Cetin, Casale; Faraoni, Tameze, Ilic, Lazovic; Lasagna, Caprari; Simeone.
Potential changes: Cetin/Coppola, Ilic/Veloso, Lasagna/Bessa.
Ruled Out: Dawidowicz (ACL tear), Gunter, Kalinic (calf strains), Frabotta (Achilles tendon partial tear), Barak (back injury).
Suspensions: Ceccherini, Magnani.
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Terracciano; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Terzic; Bonaventura, Torreira, Duncan; Sottil, Vlahovic, Gonzalez.
Potential changes: Odriozola/Venuti, Duncan/Maleh, Sottil/Callejon.
Questionable: Pulgar (ankle sprain).
Ruled Out: Dragowski (thigh strain), Amrabat (personal).
Suspensions: Biraghi.
EMPOLI-MILAN
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Vicario; Stojanovic, Romagnoli, Viti, Parisi; Zurkowski, Ricci, Henderson; Bajrami; Di Francesco, Pinamonti.
Potential changes: Viti/Luperto, Bajrami/Bandinelli, Di Francesco/Cutrone.
Ruled Out: Haas (ACL tear).
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi, Tomori, Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez; Kessié, Tonali; Messias, Brahim Diaz, Saelemaekers; Giroud.
Potential changes: Florenzi/Kalulu, Brahim Diaz/Bennacer, Saelemaekers/Krunic.
Probable: Hernandez (illness).
Ruled Out: Leao, Rebic, Calabria, Pellegri (thigh strains), Kjaer (ACL tear), Calabria (calf strain), Ibrahimovic (knee soreness).
NAPOLI-SPEZIA
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka; Lozano, Zielinski, Elmas; Mertens.
Potential changes: Mario Rui/Malcuit, Lozano/Politano, Mertens/Petagna.
Probable: Mario Rui (thigh muscle fatigue).
Ruled Out: Koulibaly (thigh strain), Osimhen (facial fracture), Insigne (COVID), Fabian Ruiz (hip tendinopathy).
Spezia (3-5-2): Provedel; Amian, Erlic, Nikolaou; Gyasi, Kovalenko, Kiwior, Maggiore, Reca; Nzola, Manaj.
Potential changes: Amian/Hristov, Reca/Bastoni, Nzola/Colley.
Probable: Nzola (stomach bug).
Ruled Out: Sena (failed physical), Strelec (foot soreness), Verde (thigh injury), Sala, Bourabia (calf injuries), Salcedo (knee tendinopathy).