Lazio vs Sassuolo
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Saturday, 11-07-2020 @6:15pm
Lazio have lost three times since the resumption and take on a highly confident Sassuolo after their first back-to-back defeats in Serie A this season.
If Simone Inzaghi’s men fail to score at the Olimpico in a 3-0 defeat to Milan last Saturday and haven’t left their home turf without scoring in two consecutive games since November 2007.
The Biancocelesti have insisted Champions League was the main target after falling further behind Juventus in the title race, but a helping hand from Milan during the mid-week round, could help Lazio uphold the pressure on the Old Lady with a win against Sassuolo.
The struggles continued in a sorry 2-1 defeat to Lecce during the week and Sassuolo arrive confident after three consecutive wins and five games unbeaten since the defeat to Atalanta in the first match after the interruption.
Inzaghi looks set to resume with Felipe Caicedo and Ciro Immobile up front, as Manuel Lazzari seems to have overcome a knock and should be able to continue at right in an unchanged midfield from the Via del Mare.
Only one change is forced after Patric received a four-match ban after having bitten Lecce’s Giulio Donati on Tuesday. Luiz Felipe looks set to take his place in defence, with Francesco Acerbi and Stefan Radu.
Roberto De Zerbi has signed a new contract and continues to spur his players on towards a place in the top half, making a late charge up the table.
Jeremie Boga seems to be back in the side for the match in Rome and two changes in defence is expected after the 2-1 win over Bologna in the midweek.
Giorgios Kiriakopoulos should get the nod out left in the back four, with Giangiacomo Magnani expected to replace Federico Peluso in the heart of the defence.
Francesco Magnanelli and Manuel Locatelli will most likely continue as holding midfielders, behind Boga, Gregoire Defrel and Domenico Berardi. Francesco Caputo up top.
Simone Inzaghi has never lost against Sassuolo, having won five and drawn twice in seven games against the Neroverdi.
Brescia vs AS Roma
Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia
Saturday, 11-07-2020 @8:30pm
Roma continue their damage control against relegation threatened Brescia in Lombardy, but the home side have started sniffing on the chance of survival.
Brescia sit seven points behind safety with as many games remaining but Diego Lopez’ men haven’t lost at the Mario Rigamonti since Italian football resumed in June.
The Rondinelle will be looking to get the most out of their last four home games against Roma, SPAL, Parma and Sampdoria, starting with an inconsistent Giallorossi on Saturday.
Paulo Fonseca’s men arrive after three defeats in five but had a positive experience against sorry Parma in the midweek. Roma arrive after back-to-back defeats on the road against rivals Milan and Napoli. A good performance is needed to keep the two mentioned behind them in the table.
Lopez looks set to continue with the same starting line-up that lost 3-1 to Torino last match, as Daniele Dessena and Sandro Tonali will proceed their responsibility in the middle. Ernesto Torregrossa scored against the Granata and gets another chance to shine next to Alfredo Donnarumma up front.
Ales Mateju gets a chance to redeem himself after scoring an own goal last time, as Roma must make changes after their win over the Gialloblu.
Paulo Fonseca could have to cope without Chris Smalling again, but lost Bryan Cristante to a yellow card suspension, meaning that Federico Fazio could be back in defence, next to Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini.
Leonardo Spinazzola looks set to change sides, as Bruno Peres should be replaced by Aleksander Kolarov. Fonseca might give Carles Perez the go ahead to replace Henrikh Mkhitaryan in support behind Edin Dzeko, playing next to Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Alfredo Donnarumma has scored in back-to-back Serie A games, the last Brescia player to score in three consecutive games was Andrea Caracciolo in April 2011.
Juventus vs Atalanta
Allianz Stadium, Torino
Saturday, 11-07-2020 @10:45pm
Juventus will be eager to bounce back from a heavy defeat to Milan and aim to maintain their seven-point lead in Serie A, but it’s a high-flying Atalanta arriving at the Allianz Stadium.
La Dea are looking to continue their climb up the table, after having surpassed Inter in the last round of fixtures. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are currently unbeaten in 11 games, having won nine consecutive games in the top division.
Milan stunned Juventus last time and handed Maurizio Sarri’s men their fourth defeat as the Old Lady squandered a two-goal lead in the second half, eventually losing 4-2 at San Siro.
Matthijs De Ligt should return to the starting line-up next to Leo Bonucci and Danilo should keep his place at left in defence. Paulo Dyabla sat out against the Rossoneri and was sorely missed in the Bianconeri attack, but should be back, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi completing the attacking trident, as Douglas Costa seems set for a super-sub role yet again.
Atalanta are on hot form this season and their recent results have seen them barge up the table, currently two points behind Lazio at second and could close the gap to Juventus to six points with a win on Saturday.
Gasp looks set to call on Ruslan Malinovskiy to sit behind Papu Gomez and Duvan Zapata, giving Josip Ilicic and Mario Pasalic a breather against the Old Lady.
Marten de Roon could be back in the middle next to Remo Freuler, with Hans Hateboer and Robin Gosens to continue out wide. Both sides have fire power to sub on during the 90 minutes and keep the match alive until the very end.
Juventus need a response to the critics, but Atalanta’s form should give them the confidence of finally breaking their Bianconeri taboo in Serie A.
Juventus are unbeaten in 30 Serie A games against Atalanta, 24 wins and six draws. La Dea last won in February 2001.
The Serie A upcoming fixtures
Sunday, 12-07-2020
-Genoa vs SPAL @6:15pm
-Parma vs Bologna @8:30pm
-Fiorentina vs Hellas Verona @8:30pm
-Cagliari vs Lecce @8:30pm
-Udinese vs Sampdoria @8:30pm
-Napoli vs AC Milan @10:45pm
Monday, 13-07-2020
-Inter Milan vs Torino @10:45pm