Rome (AFP)
Behind AC Milan, strong leader expected Sunday at Sampdoria Genoa, they are five to fight for second place in Serie A on the 10th day marked by the derby between Juventus and Torino.
The meeting at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday between AS Roma (6th) and Sassuolo (3rd) will be the only duel between these five contenders for second place, who all stand at one point.
Inter Milan (2nd), Juventus (4th) and Napoli (5th) are offered opponents within their reach, even if the repetition of matches begins the organizations of these European clubs.
For Roma as for Sassuolo, this match is essential to revive after two heavy losses - their first defeats on the pitch this season - having shaken the certainties of a good start to the season.
The Giallorossi, who so far had only lost on the green carpet, must forget the slap in Naples (0-4) while Sassuolo will try to stay in contact with the big cars after biting the dust at home against Inter Milan (0-3).
Torino, for Juve as for his coach Andrea Pirlo, is not an opponent like the others: it is against the Garnets that the "Maestro" signed in April 2015 his very last goal in Serie A (obviously on free kick ), before leaving to finish his career in the United States the following summer.
This match is also the last derby won by Torino (2-1).
In view of the current classification (Torino is 18th), it is difficult to see the "Toro" returning to success.
But the Bianconeri, without Alvaro Morata (suspended two matches after his exclusion last week for protest), must be wary of a team which, if it takes a lot of goals (22), also puts in a lot (16, almost as many as Juve with 18).
Inter Milan, four days after leaving a lot of energy on the lawn of Mönchengladbach (3-2) and especially three days before having to do it again to try to snatch the qualification in the Champions League against Shakhtar, must also stay on guard.
Bologna have won three of their last four games and arrive at San Siro well repositioned in the middle of the table.
AC Milan, the leader, will travel to Genoa on Sunday evening at the end of this day, a priori still without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, not yet recovered from his muscle injury.
The absence of the Swedish star did not prevent the Rossoneri from securing their qualification in the Europa League on Thursday evening after a stunning victory against Celtic Glasgow (4-2).
The program for the 10th day of Serie A:
Saturday
(14h00 GMT) Spezia - Lazio Rome
(17h00 GMT) Juventus Turin - Torino
(19:45 GMT) Inter Milan - Bologna
Sunday
(11:30 GMT) Hellas Verona - Cagliari
(14:00 GMT) Udinese - Atalanta Bergamo
Parma - Benevento
AS Rome - Sassuolo
(17h00 GMT) Crotone - Naples
(19:45 GMT) Sampdoria Genoa - AC Milan
Monday
(19:45 GMT) Fiorentina - Genoa
Ranking: Pts JGNP bp bc dif
1. AC Milan 23 9 7 2 0 21 8 13
2. Inter Milan 18 9 5 3 1 23 13 10
3. Sassuolo 18 9 5 3 1 20 12 8
4. Juventus Turin 17 9 4 5 0 18 7 11
5. Naples 17 9 6 0 3 20 10 10
6. AS Rome 17 9 5 2 2 19 15 4
7. Hellas Verona 15 9 4 3 2 12 7 5
8. Atalanta Bergamo 14 9 4 2 3 18 16 2
9. Lazio Rome 14 9 4 2 3 14 16 -2
10. Bologna 12 9 4 0 5 14 14 0
11. Sampdoria Genoa 11 9 3 2 4 14 15 -1
12. Cagliari 11 9 3 2 4 16 19 -3
13. Udinese 10 9 3 1 5 10 12 -2
14. Spezia 10 9 2 4 3 13 17 -4
15. Benevento 10 9 3 1 5 12 21 -9
16. Parma 9 9 2 3 4 10 17 -7
17. Fiorentina 8 9 2 2 5 10 15 -5
18. Torino 6 9 1 3 5 16 22 -6
19. Genoa 5 9 1 2 6 8 18 -10
20. Crotone 2 9 0 2 7 6 20 -14
NB: Napoli received a penalty point due to their forfeit on Matchday 3 for the match against Juventus.
Match that the Turinese won 3-0 on the green carpet.
© 2020 AFP