Inter####onale are in top spot. Consistently winning; even whilst playing
poorly; is a feature of most of their campaign to date. The title is theirs to lose. The restart of European competition will have
a big impact on the UEFA Cup and Champions League places. Juventus, Udinese and Palermo don’t have any European football to
look forward to or provide a distraction.
Inter, Milan
and Roma have the Champions League and Fiorentina have the UEFA Cup as a
distraction.
SERIE A TRANSFERS
ATALANTA
Out: Zampagna (A, Vicenza)
CAGLIARI – some
strengthening of their goalkeeping and looking for goals in order to avoid
Serie B next season.
FIORENTINA – even more depth in attack to
maintain their UEFA Cup spot.
In: Cacia (A, Piacenza)
GENOA – help at the
back and in attack, to help push for a UEFA Cup place.
In: Criscito (D, Juventus), Masiero (A, Central
Espanol), Wilson (A, Corinthians)
INTER – bolstering the injury hit midfield
with creativity and experience.
In: Maniche (M, Atletico Madrid)
Out: Adriano (A, Sao Paulo)
JUVENTUS
Out: Criscito (D, Genoa),
Olivera (M, Penarol)
LAZIO
LIVORNO – strengthening the
defence to avoid relegation trouble.
In: Sidny (D, Nautico)
MILAN – bagging the
most talked about Brazilian eighteen year old in years to help them in Europe and take them to a Champions League place.
In: Pato (A, Internacional)
NAPOLI
Out: Gatti (M, Modena)
PALERMO
Out: Brienza (M, Reggina)
PARMA – last season he
bagged 20 goals for Livorno, he’ll help them
avoid becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.
In: Lucarelli (A, Shakhtar Donetsk)
Out: Cardone (D, Cesena), Paponi (A, Cesena)
REGGINA – defensive help and proven young
goalscorer in their battle to stay up.
In: Cirillo (D, Levante), Stuani (A, Danubio)
ROMA
SAMPDORIA
Out: Foti (A, Messina)
SIENA – two more
attacking options, to help balance their goal difference.
In: Porta (A, River Plate Montevideo),
Rigano' (A, Levante)
Out: Bucchi (A, Bologna)
TORINO
UDINESE
Out: Sivok (M, Sparta Prague)
FIXTURES
Fiorentina V Torino
A midweek cup trouncing might not get any better in Florence. La Viola is strong and coming of####ood win and
with Europe coming up and the European spots
up for grabs they have plenty to play for.
The manager also seems to be right back in the game. The Gigliati are at full strength and Granata
are struggling with injuries. Last week
Fiorentina won and Torino lost.
The Nerrazzurri scraped a win last week but expect a
different side at the Stadio Meazza.
Maniche is unlikely to get an outing as will Parma’s new signing Lucarelli. Expect a home win but don’t be surprised if
Lucarelli returns to Serie A with a ####.
Parma hasn’t
won away from home yet and a loss won’t help their slide into the relegation
quagmire. Both sides are at less than
full strength but Mancini’s charges have plenty of depth. Last week Inter won and Parma lost.
Genoa V Atalanta
Great result for Genoa
last week and they’ll need to play just as well to leapfrog Atalanta in the
race for a UEFA Cup place. Expect a home
win but this could be a cracking game. Genoa loses their top
Honduran and Doni is back for Atalanta.
Last week Genoa
won and Atalanta lost.
Juventus V Sampdoria
A draw for the Bianconeri; a lucky one at that; will need to
be erased by a home win. Juventus can’t
lose their position but they will not want to slip any further behind Roma or allow
Udinese and Fiorentina to catch up. Sampdoria
were on fire last week and will relish this tough away challenge despite having
a less than stellar form on the road.
Sampdoria don’t have a full compliment of strikers and Juventus are a
touch short in defence. Tiago may
start. Last week Juventus drew and
Sampdoria won.
Livorno V Empoli
Already a relegation six pointer and a local derby will make
this fixture shine (although last season it remained goalless). Livorno is
unbeaten in five and playing well under a new manager and Empoli are
struggling, with their last win coming in 2007.
Empoli are at less than full strength and poor on the road. Last week Livorno
won and Empoli drew.
Napoli V Lazio
Napoli needs to regain
their early season form if they are to mount a challenge on a European
place. The strikers and goalkeepers are
kept busy in Naples
so expect a few goals; from either team.
Lazio continue their poor form.
Gargano will be a loss to Napoli but
Lazio has plenty of injury worries. Last
week both teams lost.
Palermo V Siena
Palermo
come off an erratic run of form but are still riding high in Serie A, another
loss will dent their UEFA Cup ambitions and could see them drop places. Siena
are in deep trouble and really struggle on the road; one win in eight. This must be the start of the Bianconeri’s
relegation dogfight, particularly as they showed so well against Inter last
week. Expect goals with both teams
wanting the win. Last week Palermo and Siena
lost.
Reggina V Cagliari
Reggina are struggling but Cagliari is awful. A huge game for both teams. Another loss and Cagliari will be playing for pride, a Reggina
loss helps them not a jot. Amaruso will
be the difference maker and will want to shine so as to stake a place in another
Serie A side next season. History is
with the home side and the visitors have their share of injury woes. Last week Reggina grabbed a point and Cagliari lost;
again.
Roma V Catania
Second place needs defended and the visit of Catania is an almost certain three points, last season Catania got thrashed
7-0. Catania hasn’t won on the road this season
and nothing is likely to change here, Mancini is in a good run of form and
Spinesi is wearing his shooting boots.
The result against Juventus will give the Sicilians heart for this
fixture. Last week Roma won and Catania were robbed of
three points.
Udinese V Milan
Possibly the biggest game of the weekend. Milan is
certainly going to be tested by a very strong Udinese side that has only lost
once in Udine. Milan’s
away form is better than their play in the Stadio Meazza though. Pirlo’s absence will be a tough blow to
overcome; Gattuso is fiery but doesn’t have the ball skills that Pirlo
has. The three Brazilians will face a
tougher test against a tough Udinese back line than they did against Napoli. The Azzuri
have some injury and suspension problems but Quagliarella is in form, history
favours the Rossoneri. Last week both
these teams won and will be looking to continue the trend to solidify their
European aspirations for the home side and to climb the table for the
visitors.
A.C. Milan
has left the country but the Serie a fixture is packed with tasty games this
weekend.
Italian football's best player gets his hands on a golden ball.
Internaz ionale are still the form team, closely followed by
A.S. Roma, the top two have opened a gap on the other teams; albeit a small
one. With three games two go before the
Winter break the chasers will want to close the gap before it becomes a chasm.
Empoli (20th)
v Cagliari (18th)
A real relegation six pointer so early in the season. Empoli have been poor; home and away this
season; with the exception of a win over A. C. Milan at the San Siro.
Two weak defences and the worst Italian top flight attack
might suggest plenty of goals; I’d beg to differ; last season this fixture was
1-0 and Cagliari don’t travel to the Stadio Castellini very well.
Injuries to the Cagliari
‘keeper will be the focal point of Empoli’s attack; Foggia may be back to his best for this
game. A dourish and close home win.
Genoa (13th) v Siena (17th)
A win for Siena
would take them away from the crowd at the bottom of the table. With only a
victory against Empoli this season they are struggling for points, a full squad
to pick from will help but a less than stellar away record doesn’t favour the
Bianconeri.
Genoa are a mixed bag this
season, good wins against Udinese and Napoli
have been balanced with a thrashing by Internaz ionale. The home side scores freely at home but also
have defensive problems, having Bega out on a suspension won’t help.
Home advantage should mean a Genoa victory. Don’t hold your breath for a cracker unless Genoa regains their early
season form.
Internaz ionale (1st)
v Torino (12th)
The Nerazzurri welcome Torino
with open arms, despite their injury worries.
The Turin
team is winless on the road and Internaz ionale are dominant at home.
Six goals for the home side in the two fixtures last season
and a relatively bounteous selection of forwards to choose from would suggest a
home romp. The Turin
team are likely to favour a 4 4 2 and have done well against Milan and Juventus this season, the need to
win this; in the first of three tough games; is immense. Ventola may have a point to prove and the
midfield will be strengthened with the return of Grella and Barone (has anyone
seen DangerMouse?). Expect a home win.
Juventus (3rd)
v Atalanta (6th)
Atalanta are calmly going about making a Bergamo size dent
in Serie A this season, they have done it without the attention of a Napoli or
Palermo. The comfortable win last week
was a wake up call to many in the league. The Orobici will be feeling good with a solid
if unspectacular away record. Doni is
better at home than away but adds a touch of class to a more workmanlike team.
Juventus are getting better as the season wears on, the lack
of European football is a huge help and the players that took them easily to
the top of Serie B are doing the same in Serie A. Goal scoring isn’t the Bianconeri’s issue at
home but their defence can be a touch shaky at times.
Doni will have to be on fire and the Juventus backline have
a clanger for an away win in the Stadio Olimpico. Home win.
Lazio (15th)
v Catania (10th)
Lazio are having a poor season, struggling in Italy and in Europe
they have all but imploded this season. Rossi
is under pressure and a loss here might be his last hurrah for the
Biancocelesti. They have a host of
injuries and are leaking goals at home.
Catania
will be buoyant after a stonking win against their Sicilian neighbours last
week. Martinez and Tedesco will be absent due to suspension
but they have plenty of quality in the side.
The Rossoazzurri front man Spinesi will be a threat but goals from
elsewhere may be harder to come by.
Not winning away this season may change this weekend, Lazio
will be shell shocked and tired from the Inter drubbing in midweek. Pride and safety can make excellent
motivators though. I’d go for an entertaining
draw.
Livorno (16th) v Roma (2nd)
Livorno is hovering above
the trouble zone this week but welcome an in form Roma to the Armando
Picchi. The Tuscan’s have been
marginally better away this season but took two points off Internaz ionale at
home. If Tavano has a good game they can
expect some goals from a sometimes error prone Roma defence.
The Giallorossi need to put away teams such as Livorno to keep Internaz ionale in their sights. Totti’s likely return will be a boost to
Spalletti, although it remains to be seen whether the Italian and Montenegrin
can operate in tandem; as they are likely to do at the weekend.
Unless Roma have a howler and Livorno; Amelia in particular;
have a blinder then an away win is on the cards, Roma are a stronger team than
last year when they came away from Tuscany
with a draw.
Napoli (9th)
v Parma (14th)
Tough game for Napoli after
last week’s defeat. They are much better
home than away so should be optimistic.
Reja is likely to field an unchanged side; one alteration due to
suspension aside; such is his confidence in his players. They have plenty of goals in them but the
Azzurri can be dodgy at the back.
Parma
has a chance to match them on points with a win. A recent run of good form has coincided with
a return to a 4 4 2, the Gialloblu will rely on Manchester misfit Corradi and Pisanu for
goals but have struggled late in games at times this season.
A tough one to call but I’ll go for the Azzurri on this one,
home form and their foreign strike force will give them all three points.
Palermo (11th) v Fiorentina (5th)
La Viola need a win to change their momentum and hasn’t lost
on their travels this season. Prandelli’s
loss will be professionally put aside in what is almost a must win game. Goals have been the recent problem, Mutu
hasn’t been on target since the Siena
win although Pazzini and Vieri have both found the net recently. Three games without a win isn’t Champions
League spot football.
Palermo had a tough loss last week and much will depend on
whether they go 4 5 1 or 4 4 2, they have been much better looking and more
dangerous in the latter formation, Amauri benefits from a little attacking
help. Last week they squandered a number
of half chances and will need to be better in front of goal this week. Caserta’s
suspension is a blow but the reintroduction of Miccoli and Cavani should help
things out up front.
The home crowd maybe a twelfth man but Fiorentina are a
strong side. I think you may see some
fireworks in the Renzo Barbera, most of them actually on the pitch. High scoring draw.
Udinese (4th)
v Sampdoria (7th)
The team from Udine
will want to bounce back after a loss to Roma.
Lack of a strong midfield will be the key for Udinese, if they can
manage without one they will win. Tough
to beat and obdurate they are good at home and their loss to Internaz ionale
was their first in nine games.
Sampdoria are a topsy turvy team, they can set a stadium
alight or bore the crowds with some turgid football; rarely do they attain a
middle ground. Cassano can set them on
fire but his ego is still a major problem.
A fit Bellucci will cause the Zebrette problems but their poor away
record in defence may be exploited.
Tense encounter given the importance of the game but Udinese
will sneak the points.
My games of the week this weekend are Juventus v Atalanta
and Palermo v
Fiorentina. Both sets of teams are close
in terms of their current standings and a good or bad result this weekend can
be a tough one to bounce back from or huge boost just before Christmas.
If you have FSC, the games from Turin,
Sicily and Milan will be broadcast. I’ll hope to do both my games of the week in
a summary.
