Internaz ionale are still in top spot. Milan
won and lost. Fiorentina and Roma kept
up with the leaders and Juventus slipped up.
Siena climbed out of trouble whilst Palermo stuttered
(again). Lazio may have kick started
their season whereas Napoli dropped points on
the leaders. Reggina did their
relegation dogfight chances no harm whereas Cagliari is looking at Serie B. Atalanta won and lost. Genoa
climbed whilst Empoli lost ground. Parma slipped up as did
Udinese. Livorno
climbed whilst Empoli fell.
FIXTURES
Livorno V Juventus
A home draw in Turin
meant an end to the Bianconeri Scuddetto hopes.
Whilst a win for Livorno took them out
of the relegation dogfight a tad.
Juventus aren’t as good on the road as they are in Turin
but should have enough to beat a midtable Livorno.
Both sides will be at less than full strength but look out
for Trezeguet, Iaqunita or Tavano to score.
Much will depend on who scores first.
Draw.
Roma V Palermo
Roma continue to look good for second place with another win
whilst Palermo dropped points at Siena. Winless in three the Rosaneri are stumbling
and will need to be at their best to beat Roma in Rome.
Look to see who copes best between the sticks with both Doni
and Fontana
equally capable of stunning saves or comedy errors. Roma are almost at full strength whilst Palermo will tweak things
a little to try to turn things around.
Home Win.
Sampdoria V Siena
A good draw for the Blucherati and a good win for the
Robur. A good middle of the table clash
with both clubs looking at the teams around them. The home game will benefit Sampdoria more as their
form in Tuscany is good, Siena don’t travel as well but will be buoyed by last
weeks away win.
Both sides miss key players but have ample threat up front,
Forestieri for the visitors and Bellucci for Sampdoria.
Draw.
Atalanta V Reggina
Both teams coming off wins will be looking to consolidate
with another three points. Atalanta are
handy at home whilst Reggina remain winless on the road.
Both sides will be full of confidence but the quick
succession of games could hinder the home side with the Calabrian side
fresher.
Brienza; Reggina’s new additions scored on his debut and
Doni back and playing well for the home side.
Home Win.
Cagliari V Napoli
Neither side got a helpful result last week and a turnaround
will be expected from the fans. The
Azzurri started brightly but have tailed off as the season wears on, the
Rossoblu are just bad this season, Serie B looms large.
Manager and one very naughty player are suspended for the
trip to the Stadio Sant’Elia, the Rossoblu are awash with injury problems.
Jeda and Matri must find the net for Cagliari and expect some South American
inspired flair in front of goal from the Azzurri.
Away Win
Empoli V Fiorentina
Empoli are embroiled in the relegation battle already and a
win is needed with the struggling Lazio in their sights. Fiorentina could match Juventus for points
with a win. One corner of Tuscany haven’t won in
four although are unbeaten at home in five, another corner is on a run of three
wins.
The Gigliati are at full strength, whilst the home side may
struggle to field a full set of strikers.
Mutu is in fine form and Vieri is weighing in with his share. It’ll be a tough afternoon for Balli.
Away win.
Milan V Genoa
Milan come off a tough win
and a tough defeat whilst Genoa
are climbing the table with two consecutive Serie A wins. Genoa have
trouble scoring away from home whilst Milan
are terrible at the San Siro this season.
Milan will be looking for the same UEFA
Cup spot that Genoa
is after.
SuperPippo is the only injury for the Rossoneri so selection
will be key for Ancellotti. Injury,
suspensions and unfit players hamper the Rossoblu who are still confident.
Which of the Brazilians will partner Kaka and will Seedorf
play further forward? Can Milan owned Borriello
score against his owners?
Draw.
Torino V Lazio
Both sides hover just above the relegation zone in a
precarious manner; two grand old clubs in trouble. Torino’s
recent form is worse than Lazio’s, although only just. Rolando Bianchi has just moved to Rome from Manchester,
although a move to Turin
was thought more likely. This will add
####e if the Italian U21 hitman gets a start or is on the bench for the
Biancocelesti.
Neither side is at full strength whilst not being as
depleted as some teams.
Goals are the problems so no matter whom starts expect the
experience of record breaking Ballotta and Sereni to be vital to the
outcome.
Last season Lazio mounted a 4-0 smash and grab in Turin.
Draw.
Udinese V Inter
Internaz ionale should be reeling with some dubious
performances in 2008, they are still unbeaten though. Susceptible but resilient; in no small part
thanks to the goals of Ibrahimovic and Cruz the Nerazzurri still top Serie
A. Last week saw Udinese lose late on to
Milan and drop
a place behind Fiorentina and back into the UEFA Cup places.
Udine
is a tough place to visit with only two losses this season. Inter are escapologists supreme; particularly
after the last two weeks.
Neither side is at full strength; Mancini has more problems
than Marino but does have some stars returning.
This game will be all about goals and in Cruz, Ibrahimovic
and Quagliarella; one of the better Italian marksmen from open play; will all
want to get some action.
Inter’s amazing streak of not losing will be severely tested
by the Zebretta and to be lucky four times on the bounce would be unfeasibly
spawny.
Nerrazzuri dominate first half, Napoli fight back in second half but
lack the quality to trouble Champions; 2-1 at the San Siro.
Saturday at the San Siro, away
fans have been banned but some have mad the trip and sit in the home section. The Stadio Guiseppe Meazza hosted a Napoli for the first time since the 01/02 season. Napoli was
resting in midweek as Internaz ionale thumped PSV so tired legs may be a factor
for Mancini’s side.
Mancini really hasn’t had his
full squad to pick from, no Maicon, Dacourt, Viera or Materazzi; the eleven he
fields is still packed with quality; Cesar in goal with a back four of Samuel
and Cordoba in the middle, Zanetti on the right and Chivu on the left; Cambiaso
anchors the midfield with Stankovic alongside him, Cesar and Figo provide
width, up front Ibrahimovic and Cruz form a potent strike threat, the 4 4 2 is
more attacking for the home game.
Reja goes with Iezzo in goal,
coming back after missing three games; a back three of Cannavaro; no his
younger brother!; Contini and Domizzi; a middle five has Grava and Bogliacino
on the flanks with Gargano sitting in, Savini supporting the attack and Hamsik
playing box to box; veteran and youngster provide no mean strike threat as
Zalyeta and Lavezzi already have four goals between them this season.
Inter are strong from the start;
poor Napoli defending barely manages to protect Iezzo when Figo and Ibrahimovic
push forward; Cambiaso and Chivu also cause trouble from the left; Napoli’s first attack ends up with Samuel blocking
Hamsik’s shot.
The break is on for Napoli, hard work from Lavezzi allows him to drop a great
ball into the danger area, Samuel flails but the ball won’t sit for Zalyeta,
Samuel recovers in time to clear the ball; Zanetti and Figo create problems at
the other end.
Samuels picks up a yellow.
Cruz is offside on a Figo through
ball; then the Argentinean gets onto a loose ball in the middle and plays in
Ibrahimovic, the Swede draws in four defenders and still manages to stab the
ball into the path of the onrushing Cruz for Inter’s first goal.
Napoli don’t collapse; they have
to work hard to defend the Champions but always look to attack on the break;
Inter want the second goal and dominate midfield with good passing and great
tackling.
Hamsik fires in from the edge of
the area but Cesar easily covers; Cesar delivers a great back post cross to
Ibrahimovic but Domizzi heads clear; Figo find Ibrahimovic but the shot goes
wide; Stankovic plays a through ball from the middle, Ibrahimovic flicks it on
but Iezzo is equal to Cruz; Samuel hacks down a flying Lavezzi, astonishingly
he doesn’t see a second yellow; Hamsik delivers a good free kick which no one
can get a touch on; Gargano tries to find Lavezzi with a deep ball but it skids
to far on the slick surface; Zalyeta crosses to the back post but the ball is a
touch too long; Stankovic plays a simple ball over the top, Cruz beats the
offside and with great skills chests it down and smashes it past Iezzo with his
left foot.
Stankovic gets a yellow as Lavezzi
is fouled again; then the young Argentinean is clearly obstructed by Cambiaso
but play is allowed to continue; Stankovic plays another sweet ball from the
middle, Ibrahimovic finds Cruz and the forward puts his easiest chance wide;
Cannavaro gets a yellow card which the referee comes fifty yards to present;
Cesar puts a ball in for Ibrahimovic, the Swede is thwarted with a great
reaction stop from Iezzo; Napoli’s last two moves end with poor finishes;
Hamsik with a woeful free kick and Savini shooting wildly.
Chivu comes off for Maxwell at
the half for the only change.
Inter, seemingly confident in
their prowess, hold back on the attacking surges in the second half, their
defending remains stout; with numbers up Napoli are limited to a long range Gargano
shot; Hamsik surges forward and wins a corner, from the rebound Lavezzi shoots
poorly; more good build up play and the chance falls to Zalyeta, he chooses to
chip Cesar instead of a pass or ball across the face of goal, Cesar claims
easily; the Brazilian punches well clear at the end of the net, patient attack
from the visitors; Garics, on for Grava, works the ball on the right, the
position is promising and he has support, the ball into the area is a good one
but the play almost immediately falls apart, Napoli finding it tough to find
quality in the area and Napoli working really hard.
The traffic is heavy for Napoli but not all one way, Ibrahimovic gets a in on
goals and fires a shot just wide.
Domizzi gets to take a 35 yard
free kick and misses by only a yard with a well taken screamer; Zanetti gets
forward and crosses for Cruz who is inches away from heading in his hat trick;
Cesar claims the ball from Lavezzi’s cross, Napoli flounder at the back in
uncharacteristic fashion and Cruz almost gets a third; crosses come in from
Napoli but they are either cleared or Cesar’s; Suazo gets a chance at the
expense of a less than happy Cruz; the Argentinean is doubly annoyed as the
Honduran fluffs a chance wide from eight yards after great play and a cross from
Figo on the right. Tails up Internaz
ionale mount some attacking moves; a five man thing of beauty has a good Figo
cross on the end of it but Garics is the re to head behind; substitute Burdiso
head the ball in narrowly wide; buoyant and still working hard the Napoli team
continues to mount attacks on Inter, Lavezzi, tired but giving it up for the
team again is at the heart of good things for Napoli, he works the ball on the
right and gets to the byline, a pulled back cross arrives at the back post to meet
the perfectly timed run and leap of substitute Sosa; the attacker leaps
imperiously above Maxwell and connects, sending the ball back across goal and
in at the far post; Reja immediately brings on another striker, Calaio for
Hamzic to show his attacking intent; but the final few minutes of the game don’t
really allow for any goal chances from either team.
Mancini’s team were awesome in
the first half, defensively strong, hard working all over the pitch and with
enough attacking options and flair to trouble any defenders, and this is largely Internaz ionale’s B
Team. Second half they stopped attacking
and just defended for most of the 45, they still looked solid and worked well
as a team, never really being overly troubled, and when the decided to attack
they almost got a goal. Complete
football, good to watch, tough to beat.
Reja’s, a manager known for his
defensive prowess; team looked all at sea in the first five minutes, a team
made up of Serie B players with a few additions managed to find their feet and
worked hard against the current Serie A Champions; they didn’t just sit back
with men behind the ball but looked to attack whenever they could. Two behind at half time wasn’t an
insurmountable lead; the away side attacked in the second half and had the
bulk of possession, the last ball in was
generally poor and they really didn’t trouble Cesar, they took their chance and
still attacked but Inter were too strong for the Southern side.
The referee gave out a lot of
yellows in a game that wasn’t nasty, but they were; for the most part
warranted, Cannavaro’s yellow was too harsh, the referee was all of fifty yards
away at the time; a very authoritarian style which mostly worked, Samuel’s
second challenge on Lavezzi was worst than his first and should have seen the
Argentinean sent off and Cambiaso clearly stepped in front of his compatriot to
break up a run but went unpunished. You’d
have to say a c+ for the man in the middle.
