The not-so-hidden dream of the Serie A leaders is fulfilled in Round 26, as there are no games taking place simultaneously due to the international competitions. The slate will begin Friday night, with Juventus hosting Torino. The Bianconeri escaped the Atalanta game with a late equalizer, keeping their positive streak alive. The Granata are coming off two straight losses, which has been rare for them.
No head-to-head clashes in the title race in this matchday after two meaningful ones. Milan will visit Salernitana Sunday night in Davide Nicola’s debut on the bench. Inter will face the giant-slaying Sassuolo at home, looking to get back to winning ways. Napoli will visit Cagliari, which have been gaining steam for a couple of months now.
Sampdoria will take on Empoli, trying to build on the large win over Sassuolo and the respectable outing against Milan, while the Azzurri have been treading water for weeks. Fresh off two bitter draws, Roma will face the red-hot Verona, which prevailed in three of their last four fixtures, losing only to Juventus. In what is likely the most interesting game in Round 26, Fiorentina will battle Atalanta in an instant rematch of their recent Coppa Italia thriller.
The key bout in the relegation struggle du jour will pit Venezia against Genoa. The Lagunari finally, and surprisingly, halted their slide last week against Torino, while the Grifone have picked up three straight draws with Alexander Blessin at the helm. Lazio will seek to extend their run versus Udinese, which were thrashed by Verona last week. Bologna-Spezia completes the slate Monday night, with the Rossoblù attempting to finally get a win after months. The momentum of the Aquilotti was recently halted by a defeat at the hands of Fiorentina.
On the injury front, Torino lost Dennis Praet likely for the rest of the season due to a foot fracture, while Venezia Luca Lezzerini due to a thigh tendon tear. Lazio’s Manuel Lazzari, Atalanta’s José Luis Palomino and Verona’s Miguel Veloso will miss about a month with muscular problems. Two more Napoli players got hurt.
JUVENTUS-TORINO
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Alex Sandro, Pellegrini; Zakaria, Locatelli, Rabiot; Dybala, Vlahovic, Morata.
Ruled Out: Chiesa (ACL tear), Chiellini (calf strain), Bernardeschi (thigh injury), Bonucci (calf muscle fatigue).
Suspensions: Danilo.
Torino (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Bremer, Rodriguez; Singo, Mandragora, Lukic, Vojvoda; Pjaca, Brekalo; Belotti.
Ruled Out: Praet (foot fracture), Fares, Edera (ACL tears).
SAMPDORIA-EMPOLI
Sampdoria (4-3-1-2) Falcone; Bereszynski, Magnani, Colley, Murru; Candreva, Rincon, Thorsby; Sabiri; Quagliarella, Caputo.
Ruled Out: Gabbiadini (ACL tear), Damsgaard (knee infection), Yoshida (thigh strain), Giovinco (calf injury), Askildsen (knee soreness), Sensi (stomach bug).
Empoli (4-3-2-1): Vicario; Stojanovic, Romagnoli, Viti, Parisi; Zurkowski, Asllani, Benassi; Bajrami; Cutrone, Pinamonti.
Ruled Out: Haas, Marchizza (ACL tears), Verre.
ROMA-VERONA
Roma (4-2-3-1): Rui Patricio; Karsdorp, Smalling, Kumbulla, Vina; Sergio Oliveira, Cristante; Maitland-Niles, Pellegrini, Afena-Gyan; Abraham.
Ruled Out: Ibanez (MCL sprain), Spinazzola (Achilles’ tendon tear), El Shaarawy (calf injury), Mkhitaryan, Carles Perez, Shomurodov (suspected COVID-19), Zaniolo (quad soreness).
Suspensions: Mancini.
Verona (3-4-2-1): Montipò; Casale, Gunter, Ceccherini; Faraoni, Tameze, Ilic, Lazovic; Barak, Caprari; Simeone.
Ruled Out: Veloso (calf strain), Dawidowicz (ACL tear), Pandur (shoulder injury).
SALERNITANA-MILAN
Salernitana (4-3-1-2): Sepe; Mazzocchi, Dragusin, Fazio, Ranieri; L.Coulibaly, Radovanovic, Kastanos; Ribery; Bonazzoli, Djuric.
Ruled Out: Strandberg (sports hernia surgery), Ruggeri, M.Coulibaly, Schiavone (thigh strains), Verdi (muscle fatigue), Gyomber, Di Tacchio, Delli Carri, Vergani.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Messias, Brahim Diaz, Leao; Giroud.
Ruled Out: Kjaer (ACL tear), Ibrahimovic (Achilles’ soreness), Gabbia (plantar fasciitis).
FIORENTINA-ATALANTA
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Dragowski; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Torreira, Duncan; Gonzalez, Piatek, Sottil.
Ruled Out: Terracciano (illness).
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Musso; Toloi, Demiral, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Zappacosta; Malinovskyi, Koopmeiners; Boga.
Ruled Out: Muriel (thigh injury), Ilicic (mental health), Zapata (thigh tendon tear), Palomino, Miranchuk (thigh strains).
VENEZIA-GENOA
Venezia (4-3-3): Romero; Svoboda, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Haps; Cuisance, Ampadu, Crnigoj; Aramu, Henry, Nani.
Ruled Out: Lezzerini (torn biceps femoris tendon), Sigurdsson (ankle injury), Kiyine.
Suspensions: Busio, Okereke.
Genoa (4-2-3-1): Sirigu; Hefti, Maksimovic, Vasquez, Cambiaso; Sturaro, Badelj; Ekuban, Rovella, Yeboah; Destro.
Ruled Out: Bani (thigh strain), Criscito, Amiri (stomach bug), Vanheusden.
INTER-SASSUOLO
Inter (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Dimarco; Darmian, Gagliardini, Barella, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez.
Ruled Out: Correa (thigh strains).
Suspensions: Bastoni, Brozovic.
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Consigli; Muldur, Ayhan, Chiriches, Rogerio; Frattesi, Maxime Lopez, Hamed Traorè; Berardi, Scamacca, Raspadori.
Ruled Out: Obiang (pneumonia), Romagna (patellar tendon tear), Schiappacasse (legal problems), Toljan.
Suspensions: Ferrari.
UDINESE-LAZIO
Udinese (3-5-2): Silvestri; Becao, Pablo Mari, Nehuen Perez; Soppy, Arslan, Walace, Makengo, Molina; Deulofeu, Becao.
Ruled Out: Larsen (contractual dispute), Nuytinck (knee soreness).
Lazio (4-3-3): Strakosha; Hysaj, Luiz Felipe, Patric, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Basic; Pedro, Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni.
Ruled Out: Lazzari, Acerbi (thigh strains), Akpa Akpro (pneumonia), Immobile (flu).
Suspensions: Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto.
CAGLIARI-NAPOLI
Cagliari (3-5-2): Cragno; Altare, Goldaniga, Obert; Bellanova, Grassi, Marin, Baselli, Dalbert; Joao Pedro, Pereiro.
Potential changes: Altare/Ceppitelli, Baselli/Lykogiannis, Pereiro/Keita.
Questionable: Carboni (ankle sprain), Nandez (knee bruise), Lykogiannis, Pavoletti (muscle fatigue), Marin (stomach bug).
Doubtful: Lovato (thigh injury).
Ruled Out: Strootman (knee surgery), Rog (ACL tear), Walukiewicz (femoroacetabular impingement), Ceter (knee injury).
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Fabian Ruiz, Demme; Ounas, Zielinski, Elmas; Mertens.
Potential changes: Fabian Ruiz/Juan Jesus, Ounas/Petagna, Mertens/Osimhen.
Questionable: Fabian Ruiz (head wound), Osimhen (knee soreness).
Ruled Out: Lozano (shoulder sprain), Politano (calf pull), Lobotka, Anguissa (thigh strains), Tuanzebe (back pain), Insigne (muscle fatigue).
BOLOGNA-SPEZIA
Bologna (3-4-3): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Binks, Theate; De Silvestri, Schouten, Soriano, Hickey; Orsolini, Arnautovic, Barrow.
Potential changes: Binks/Bonifazi, Orsolini/Sansone, Barrow/Aebischer.
Ruled Out: Dominguez (shoulder surgery), Santander (cheekbone fracture), Kingsley (fibula fracture).
Suspensions: Medel, Svanberg.
Spezia (4-3-3): Provedel; Ferrer, Erlic, Nikolaou, Reca; Maggiore, Kiwior, Sala; Gyasi, Manaj, Verde.
Potential changes: Ferrer/Hristov, Sala/Bastoni, Maggiore/Kovalenko.
Ruled Out: Bastoni (thigh strain), Sena (failed physical).
Suspensions: Amian.