Fiorentina vs Benevento
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @2:30pm
Cesare Prandelli prepares for his first match since the announcement of his return to Fiorentina and the Viola host struggling Benevento at the Artemio Franchi.
The former Italy CT returned to Fiorentina after 10 years and will start his second stint with a home game against Filippo Inzaghi’s newly promoted men.
Ahead of the international break, Fiorentina followed a 2-0 defeat to Roma with a 0-0 draw against Parma at the Ennio Tardini and prepare for their first home game in Serie A since October 25.
Benevento’s poor run was stretched to four Serie A defeats on the bounce when Spezia visited the Streghe last time.
Prandelli is expected to continue in a 3-5-2 formation, and Dusan Vlahovic, who scored his first goal for Serbia this week, could start up front with Franck Ribery.
Jose Callejon has recovered from coronavirus but is not expected to start the match and Christian Kouame could start over Giacomo Bonaventura in the midfield five.
Only two points separate the sides after seven games and Prandelli will be expected to turn things around rapidly and build on previous success with the Viola.
Fiorentina, who haven’t scored in 219 minutes in Serie A, have lost six of their 13 last games against a newly promoted side.
Inter Milan vs Torino
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @5pm
Inter coach Antonio Conte must cope without Aleksandar Kolarov and Marcelo Brozovic when the Nerazzurri host Torino at San Siro on Sunday. The two Nerazzurri men returned from international duty positive for coronavirus and Stefano Sensi seems set to miss out again.
Torino also announced two positive test but did not reveal their identities.
Inter, who are without a win in four competitive games, aim to bounce back against Marco Giampaolo’s men, but the Granata come from a positive experience ahead of the international break.
Torino, who will be without the coach due to COVID-19, climbed out of the bottom three with four points in a week, following up a 2-1 win against Genoa with a clean sheet in the goalless draw with newly promoted Crotone.
Inter have a decisive game against Real Madrid on Wednesday next week, but reports in Italy suggest the Beneamata will come out with a strong XI against Torino.
Achraf Hakimi should take place at right, with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez ahead of Nicolò Barella in attack.
Milan Skriniar should get another go in defence, accompanied by Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni, as Andrea Belotti spearheads Torino after an impressive few weeks with club and national team.
Torino are not expected to upset the Nerazzurri at San Siro, but the Granata have only lost once in their last five games, including a 3-1 win in extra time over Lecce in the Coppa Italia, and hope to provide a stern test for Conte’s men.
Inter have won their last two games against Torino and could register three consecutive wins over the Granata for the first time since September 2008.
AS Roma vs Parma
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @5pm
Parma travel to Roma with only one win in the opening seven games but the Giallorossi have five players out due to Covid, including their captain Edin Dzeko.
The likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Davide Santon, Federico Fazio and Marash Kumbulla have also caught the virus alongside Primavera goalkeeper Pietro Boer who was included in the Giallorossi’s team at Genoa before the break. Chris Smalling is in doubt for severe food poisoning but Antonio Mirante is back to action.
Andreas Cornelis will be eligible to play for Parma but will start from the bench. The Gialloblu have the injured Valentin Mihalia and Lautaro Valenti on the sidelines.
Parma have only won one of their 26 away games at Roma in Serie A. It is dated back to April 1997 with Carlo Ancelotti on their bench.
Sampdoria vs Bologna
Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @5pm
Sampdoria aim to bounce back from a poor performance against Cagliari, when struggling Bologna travel to Liguria on Sunday.
The Blucerchiati’s four game unbeaten run came to an end in Sardinia ahead of the international break, but Claudio Ranieri’s men hope to have regrouped during the international break, aiming to respond against the Rossoblu.
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s team seemed to have turned things around when they followed up at 2-0 win against Reggina in the Coppa Italia with three points in Serie A against Cagliari, but Napoli brought them back to reality in the last match before the break.
The 1-0 defeat to the Partenopei leaves Bologna with six points from seven games in 2020-21 and need to turn things around quickly.
Reports in Italy suggest Samp could rest Albin Ekdal and replace him with Adrien Silva this weekend, but Manolo Gabbiadini has returned to the squad.
Bologna have won three on the bounce against Sampdoria in Serie A, but the home side had gone 12 games without losing at the Marassi to the Rossoblu before the defeat on June 28 this year.
Bologna have conceded goals in 40 consecutive Serie A games and could equalise the second worst run in the top five European Leagues. Gimnastic de Tarragona have the second worst record from 1950 and Bordeaux conceded in 42 straight games in 1960.
Hellas Verona vs Sassuolo
Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @5pm
Sassuolo trail League leaders Milan by two points ahead of their trip to Hellas Verona, who are within touching distance of the top four.
Ivan Juric has eight players out of action, including Darko Lazovic who has tested positive for Covid. Matteo Lovato and Andrea Favilli are going to miss the game with muscular problems while Mattia Zaccagni could recover from the injury he sustained on international duty.
Roberto De Zerbi has only four players unavailable but one of them is Ciccio Caputo who also got injured with the Azzurri last week. Gregoire Defrel will try to recover while Vlad Chiriches and Filippo Romagna are not available. The former Cagliari man will return in December after a knee injury.
Sassuolo have won their last three games at the Bentegodi (against Chievo and Hellas) without conceding a goal. It’s the stadium where the Neroverdi have kept the most clean sheets in away games, five.
Udinese vs Genoa
Darcia Arena, Udine
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @8pm
Udinese and Genoa are both desperate for three points and the winner on Sunday could climb out of the bottom three.
Genoa started with an emphatic win against Crotone, but a COVID-19 crisis and injury problems have held them back ever since and led them down a winless path of six consecutive games.
They travel to face struggling Udinese, who have only picked up one win in four home games this term – a 3-2 win against Parma on October 18 – and the pressure mounts on the staff and players in Udine.
Luca Gotti’s men sit second to bottom in Serie A, but picked up a point against high flying Sassuolo to gain confidence ahead of a much-needed break.
Genoa failed to overcome Roma in their last match, leaving them with back-to-back defeats after the home loss to then bottom-placed Torino the same week.
Playmaker Rodrigo de Paul should continue to lead the Friuli, who are expected to continue with Kevin Lasagna and Stefano Okaka in attack.
Genoa seem set to continue with 21-year-old Gianluca Scamacca up front, as he continues to impress since his move on loan from Sassuolo in October.
But the Rossoblu must cope without Marko Pjaca in the middle, as the left-midfielder struggles with a hamstring injury.
Udinese are unbeaten in eight Serie A games against Genoa, the longest run without a loss against any single opposition.
Napoli vs AC Milan
Stadio San Paolo, Naples
Sunday, 22-11-2020 @10:45pm
Gennaro Gattuso and Daniele Bonera reunite at the San Paolo for Napoli-Milan with the former defender who will be in charge of the Rossoneri as both Stefano Pioli and his assistant coach have tested positive for Covid.
Victor Osimhen picked up a shoulder injury during the international break and is likely to be replaced by Dries Mertens while both Amir Rrahmani and Elseid Hysaj have caught Covid.
Rafael Leao is the only player unavailable for the Rossoneri because of a thigh injury he sustained on international duty.
Ante Rebic returns after an elbow injury he picked up in September and will replace the Portuguese international on the left-hand side of Milan’s attacking trident.
Napoli are unbeaten in the last 11 Serie A games against Milan (6W, 5D).
The recent Serie A results
Saturday, 21-11-2020
-Crotone 0-2 Lazio
-Spezia 0-0 Atalanta
-Juventus 2-0 Cagliari
