And we are back. The Serie A match day 6 is upon us and as always, the upcoming match day promises to bring some really great games, a few dull ones but as is always the case, a lot of events will have a lot of bearing on how the season unfolds.
So without unnecessary pandering, let’s take a quick look at every game that will take place at the weekend.
Crotone – Atalanta
After holding reigning champions Juventus to a 1-1 draw, Giovanni Stroppa’s men lost to Cagliari in an entertaining 4-2 affair. However, the newly promoted outfit is languishing at the bottom of the table and with the Juve game the only time they gained a point this season, the match against Atalanta couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The Bergamo giants really need to get back on track after losing two games in a row. They haven’t lost three games in a row in the league since January 2016 so Gian Piero Gasperini wouldn’t want to be the man behind such a forgettable record.
Inter – Parma
Antonio Conte just can’t seem to force his team into playing consistently. The Nerazzurri stuttered to a goalless draw against Shakhtar in the Champions League and the form of Lautaro Martinez is becoming a major concern.
With Romelu Lukaku out alongside Alexis Sanchez, Inter would need to turn things around against a team that has its own COVID-19 concerns to worry about. However, Parma have been unbeaten in their last four league games hosted by Inter so perhaps another draw is on the cards?
Bologna – Cagliari
Both teams are pretty cool if you ask us. They have a habit of conceding goals, hate clean sheets but go by the mentality of over scoring to get the job done. Cagliari in particular have shown that they can come back from behind, doing so on two occasions already.
So who’d going to win this one?
Well, Bologna don’t have Gary Medel and Andrea Poli available so Cagliari might edge this one out.
Udinese – Milan
Milan are leading the Serie A standings and travel to Udinese on the back of some really solid results. They’ve only dropped points once in the league (in a 3-3 draw against Roma) and are the in-form team in Italy right now.
Stefano Pioli is doing wonders for Rossoneri and with Udinese still struggling in the league, perhaps the Milan giants would be relishing the prospect of facing Luca Gotti’s side.
Jens Petter Hauge and Gigio Donnarumma have tested negative for the coronavirus so could be in line to return.
While Milan have won only 3 times in their last 12 visits to the Dacia Arena, their current form definitely looks to turn things around.
Spezia – Juventus
Juventus are winless in their last two games and were lucky to lose to Barcelona by only two goals in their Champions League outing in midweek. Andrea Pirlo’s men seem to lose the cutting edge without Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad and while the legendary forward has tested negative for the coronavirus, it is unlikely to see him given 90 minutes to add more to his tally.
Spezia, on the other hand, have a raft of injuries to deal with so this is probably the best time for Juventus to register a morale boosting win.
A lot of questions are now being asked about Pirlo’s credentials and the Italian must guide his team to win in this game because hey…it’s Italian football and patience here is as rare as adamantium.
Torino – Lazio
Torino finally got their first point of the season last week and are now going to face a Lazio side that is in quite a corona-induced pickle.
The Aquile have a large contingent of senior players who have been infected which means that Simone Inzaghi has a job on his hands.
12 players – Thomas Strakosha, Patric, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Danilo Cataldi, Mohamed Fares, Luis Alberto, Manuel Lazzari, Djavan Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Nicolò Armini, Luiz Felipe and Lucas Leiva – are going to sit out this game so perhaps Torino can finally get back to winning ways?
Lazio have a great away record against Torino but it appears that they might find it hard to register a win with a squad that has been besieged by the virus.
Napoli – Sassuolo
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the big one. Both sides are in second place in the league standings with 11 points. Napoli are flying high and so are Sassuolo. Napoli are going to be without the services of Lorenzo Insigne who picked up a thigh injury on Europa League duty.
Sassuolo have won just once in their last 14 games in Napoli and would be looking to turn the tide. But it does seem to be quite a difficult task given the fact that Gennaro Gattuso’s men have been very solid at the back at home.
Roma – Fiorentina
Paulo Fonseca would be eager to see his team build on the 3-3 draw with Milan last week as they prepare to host Franck Ribery and Fiorentina. Roma have won their last two games against La Viola and would definitely be looking to make it three this time around.
Sampdoria – Genoa
Doria are in seventh place in the league standings and before losing out to the Grifone last season, were unbeaten against them in the last seven games. Genoa are precariously close to the relegation zone so an unlikely win in the Derby della Lanterna is going to be appreciated a lot.
Hellas Verona – Benevento
Verona have proven to be quite the experts when it comes to handling newly-promoted sides. And after holding Juventus to a 1-1 draw last week, would be looking to do one better and pile further misery on Pippo Inzaghi’s men who are winless in three games.
The Streghe are a good side but are too inconsistent to stay out of trouble. Verona have not conceded a goal at home in the last four league games which makes the task even more unenviable for Inzaghi’s side.