Fiorentina vs Cagliari
Artemio Franchi, Florence
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @8:30pm
Fiorentina finally got themselves out of a disastrous streak by beating Parma with two penalties, but Cagliari have been tough to beat under Walter Zenga.
The Viola had one win in nine rounds, including draws with relegation strugglers Udinese and Brescia, before a pair of Erick Pulgar spot-kicks got the better of Parma on Sunday. German Pezzella is suspended in defence, but Dusan Vlahovic returns and it remains to be seen if Franck Ribery will start, considering a slight knock and the trauma of having his house burgled.
Cagliari were down to 10 men for over an hour against Atalanta on Sunday, yet still only lost 1-0 to a penalty and threatened a late equaliser. Zenga has made them tougher and having Radja Nainggolan back is a definite bonus. Giovanni Simeone will be eager to prove a point against his old club, having rediscovered his scoring touch lately.
Fiorentina have both scored and conceded in each of their last four Serie A home fixtures.
Genoa vs Napoli
Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @8:30pm
Napoli’s spectacular run of results was only interrupted by Atalanta, but they are now joint fourth and visit a Genoa side sliding towards relegation.
Gennaro Gattuso has transformed the Partenopei since taking over from Carlo Ancelotti in December, already securing Europa League football after winning the Coppa Italia. The loss to Atalanta was the only blot since the restart, as a 2-1 win allowed them to catch Roma in fourth.
Genoa, on the other hand, are only two points clear of the relegation zone and have completely lost the momentum they were starting to build under coach Davide Nicola before the lockdown. At least there’s still fight in the team, as they twice fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 away to Brescia and Udinese in the last three rounds.
Napoli are unbeaten against Genoa in Serie A since January 2012, managing 10 wins and five draws, home and away.
Torino vs Brescia
Olimpic Stadium Grande Torino, Torino
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @10:45pm
This suddenly becomes a relegation six-pointer, because after Brescia’s surprise victory over Hellas Verona and Torino’s three consecutive defeats, it’s all to play for.
Toro sit just six points clear of the bottom three and Brescia hauled themselves off the foot of the table, leapfrogging SPAL, to move within six points of safety. In this compressed campaign, there’s no time to rest and recuperate, the points are coming thick and fast.
The Granata have every reason to be worried, as they have just one win and a draw in their last 11 Serie A games. Key defender Armando Izzo is suspended, while Simone Zaza is trying to push his way back into the starting XI after injury.
Brescia have become stronger since reuniting Alfredo Donnarumma and Ernesto Torregrossa, the pair of strikers who took them to promotion from Serie B in the first place.
These teams have not played a Serie A draw since 1992, with five Torino wins and three for Brescia.
AS Roma vs Parma
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @10:45pm
Roma are in crisis after three consecutive defeats, could change their tactics again without Chris Smalling and host counter-attack specialists Parma.
Paulo Fonseca is in the most difficult position he’s been in since taking the Olimpico job a year ago, with growing reports he could be on his way out. He moved to three at the back for the 2-1 defeat to Napoli and said that was the plan going forward, but Smalling’s injury and the fact they are up against Parma’s 4-3-3 might see him revert back to 4-2-3-1.
The Ducali need a boost themselves after unlucky defeats to Inter, Verona and Fiorentina, hoping a rested Andreas Cornelius and getting Gervinho fired up against his old club will make the most of that shaky Roma defence.
Parma only won one Serie A trip to Roma in 1997, along with six draws and 18 defeats.
Atalanta vs Sampdoria
Gewis Stadium, Bergamo
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @10:45pm
Atalanta are one point off Inter after eight consecutive victories, but host Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria who have won their last two games.
Gian Piero Gasperini proved he can rotate his squad and even win ugly when needed, doing the bare minimum to get past 10-man Cagliari midweek with a totally revamped side. We should see more familiar faces this time around and a return to the all-attack approach that made them the favourites for so many neutrals.
Samp have found stability after another chaotic campaign and back-to-back victories over Lecce and SPAL allowed them to break seven points clear of the drop zone. Fabio Quagliarella is back on the bench, although probably not yet risked from the start.
Atalanta have scored 100 goals in 39 competitive games this season, an average of 2.56 per match. Among Europe’s top five leagues, only Bayern Munich (2.98) and PSG (2.95) have been more prolific.
Bologna vs Sassuolo
Stadio Renato Dell’Ara, Bologna
Wednesday, 08-07-2020 @10:45pm
This is an intriguing Emilia-Romagna Derby, as Sassuolo keep churning out goals and Bologna are fresh from a shock win away to Inter.
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men completed a remarkable turnaround at San Siro – when down to 10 men – but Roberto Soriano begins a two-match ban for insulting the referee. Rodrigo Palacio is therefore expected to step in, with Musa Barrow starting and Musa Juwara on the bench.
The Neroverdi can’t seem to stop scoring at the moment and are one of the most entertaining teams to watch right now in Serie A. Their defence is also shaky, meaning we’ve seen 27 goals in their last five games (14 scored and 13 conceded).
Filip Djuricic is suspended, so Gregoire Defrel is likely to make their XI even more attacking than usual.
Sassuolo could register two consecutive Serie A victories against Bologna for the first time in their history.
The Serie A upcoming fixtures
Thursday, 09-07-2020
-SPAL vs Udinese @8:30pm
-Hellas Verona vs Inter Milan @10:45pm
Results on Tuesday, 07-07-2020
-Lecce 2-1 Lazio
-AC Milan 4-2 Juventus