Serie A returns after the second international break with a pair of heavy-hitters on the schedule. Inter will visit Lazio on Saturday, with Simone Inzaghi facing his former team. The Sunday slate will be capped off by the always heated Juventus-Roma. Napoli will look to keep their winning streak going versus the plucky Torino. The depleted Milan will host Verona.
The round will start with the key clash between Spezia and Salernitana in the relegation struggle, with Thiago Motta fighting to keep his job. According to the whispers, the same could be true for both coaches in Genoa-Sassuolo. Cagliari, the last winning-less team in the League, will attempt to finally get one against Sampdoria. Atalanta will seek to bounce back versus Empoli, while Udinese will try to end their negative streak in the Bologna game. The round will conclude with Venezia and Fiorentina squaring off on Monday night.
It has been a rough couple of weeks from the injury standpoint. Mike Maignan underwent wrist surgery, but Milan will get a few players back. Adrien Rabiot and Theo Hernandez tested positive for COVID after spending time with France, and Brahim Diaz got it too. Atalanta lost Berat Djimsiti to an arm fracture, who joins Robin Gosens and Matteo Pessina on the shelf. Sampdoria’s Mikkel Damsgaard got hurt with his national team as well. On the other hand, Ciro Immobile, Andrea Belotti and Nicolò Zaniolo took advantage of the break to shake off their physical problems.
SPEZIA-SALERNITANA – Official
Spezia (4-2-3-1): Provedel; Ferrer, Hristov, Nikolaou, Gyasi; Kovalenko, Maggiore; Verde, Antiste, Strelec; Nzola.
Ruled Out: Amian (thigh soreness), Erlic (thigh injury), Nguiamba (thigh injury), Agudelo (foot metatarsal fracture), Reca (COVID infection), Sala (calf strain), Bourabia (calf strain), Colley (thigh pull), Sena (failed physical), Nguiamba (muscle fatigue), Kiwior (lower leg bruise).
Suspensions: Bastoni.
Salernitana (3-4-1-2): Belec; Gyomber, Strandberg, Gagliolo, Ranieri; M.Coulibaly, Di Tacchio, Obi; Kastanos; Simy, Djuric.
Ruled Out: Ribery (ankle bruise), Bonazzoli (lower leg contusion), L.Coulibaly (thigh strain), Ruggeri (thigh strain), Capezzi (knee injury), Bogdan (calf strain), Veseli (COVID).
LAZIO-INTER – Official
Lazio (4-3-3): Reina; Marusic, Luiz Felipe, Patric, Hysaj; Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Basic; Felipe Anderson, Immobile, Pedro.
Suspensions: Acerbi.
Inter (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Dimarco; Dzeko, Perisic.
Ruled Out: Eriksen (heart issues), Sensi (knee sprain), Alexis Sanchez, Vidal (late returns).
MILAN-VERONA – Official
Milan (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Calabria, Tomori, Romagnoli, Ballo-Touré; Kessié, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Maldini, Rebic; Giroud.
Ruled Out: Maignan (wrist injury), Brahim Diaz, Hernandez (COVID), Messias (thigh strain), Florenzi (meniscus injury), Bakayoko (Achilles’ soreness), Mirante (conditioning).
Verona (3-4-2-1): Montipò; Ceccherini, Gunter, Casale; Faraoni, Ilic, Veloso, Lazovic; Barak, Caprari; Kalinic.
Ruled Out: Frabotta (Achilles tendon soreness), Dawidowicz (muscle fatiue).
CAGLIARI-SAMPDORIA – Official
Cagliari (4-4-2): Cragno; Caceres, Godin, Carboni, Lykogiannis; Nandez, Strootman, Marin, Dalbert; Joao Pedro, Keita.
Ruled Out: Rog (ACL tear), Ceter (thigh strain), Walukiewicz (thigh contusion).
Sampdoria (4-3-3): Audero; Bereszynski, Yoshida, Colley, Augello; Thorsby, Adrien Silva, Askildsen; Candreva, Quagliarella, Gabbiadini.
Ruled Out: Damsgaard (thigh stain), Ihattaren (personal), Vieira (thigh strain), Torregrossa (calf injury).
UDINESE-BOLOGNA – Official
Udinese (3-5-1-1): Silvestri; Becao, Nuytinck, Samir; Stryger Larsen, Pereyro Walace, Makengo, Udogie; Deulofeu, Beto.
Ruled Out: Perez (thigh strain), Success (thigh injury), Nestorovski (ACL tear).
Bologna (3-4-2-1): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Dominguez, Svanberg, Hickey; Soriano, Barrow; Arnautovic.
Ruled Out: Bonifazi (calf injury), Schouten (thigh injury).
GENOA-SASSUOLO – Official
Genoa (4-2-3-1): Sirigu; Masiello, Biraschi, Vasquez, Criscito; Touré, Badelj; Pandev, Rovella, Fares; Destro.
Ruled Out: Maksimovic (thigh strain), Vanheusden (thigh strain), Cassata (knee surgery), Bani (thigh soreness), Hernani (thigh injury).
Sassuolo (4-2-3-1): Consigli; Toljan, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Maxime Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Djuricic; Scamacca.
Ruled Out: Traoré, Boga, Ayhan (illness), Obiang (pneumonia), Romagna (patellar tendon tear), Schiappacasse (ACL tear).
EMPOLI-ATALANTA – Official
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Vicario; Stojanovic, Viti, Romagnoli, Marchizza; Haas, Stulac, Zurkowski; Henderson; Di Francesco, Pinamonti.
Probable: Ricci (thigh injury), Pinamonti (thigh injury).
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Musso; Toloi, Demiral, Palomino; Zappacosta, De Roon, Koopmeiners, Maehle; Malinovskyi, Pasalic; Zapata.
Ruled Out: Gosens (thigh strain), Djimsiti (arm fracture), Pessina (thigh strain), Hateboer (foot microfracture).
NAPOLI-TORINO – Official
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Fabian Ruiz, Anguissa; Politano, Zielinski, Insigne; Osimhen.
Questionable: Manolas (ankle sprain), Ounas (thigh pull), Malcuit (calf pull).
Torino (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Bremer, Rodriguez; Singo, Lukic, Mandragora, Aina; Linetty, Brekalo; Sanabria.
Ruled Out: Verdi (thigh strain), Edera (ACL tear), Pjaca (calf strain), Praet (thigh strain).
JUVENTUS-ROMA – Official
Juventus (4-4-2): Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Sciglio; Cuadrado, Bentancur, Locatelli, Bernardeschi; Chiesa, Kean.
Ruled Out: Rabiot (COVID), Dybala (thigh pull), De Light (thigh injury).
Roma (4-2-3-1): Rui Patricio; Karsdorp, Mancini, Ibanez, Vina; Cristante, Veretout; Zaniolo, Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan; Abraham.
Ruled Out: Spinazzola (Achilles tendon tear), Smalling (thigh strain).
VENEZIA-FIORENTINA
Venezia (4-3-3): Romero; Mazzocchi, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Molinaro; Crnigoj, Vacca, Busio; Aramu, Henry, Johnsen.
Potential changes: Romero/Maenpaa, Molinaro/Haps, Crnigoj/Ampadu.
Probable: Haps (thigh strain), Sigurdsson (thigh strain), Schnegg (fatigue).
Ruled Out: Lezzerini (back surgery), Ala-Myllymaki (knee cartilage tear).
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Terracciano; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Torreira, Duncan; Callejon, Vlahovic, Gonzalez.
Potential changes: Milenkovic/Nastasic, Torreira/Amrabat, Callejon/Sottil.
Probable: Milenkovic.
Questionable: Castrovilli (chest contusion), Saponara (knee soreness).
Ruled Out: Dragowski (thigh strain).