2019-20 Serie A Matchday-6 Preview: Juventus host SPAL, Inter look to extend perfect start at Sampdoria
Following 5 matchdays of the 2019-20 Serie A season, champions Juventus and league leaders Internazionale are the only unbeaten teams in the Italian top-flight.
On matchday-6, Juventus play host to visiting SPAL, while Internazionale would look for their best-ever start to a Serie A season by winning their sixth game on the trot, away at Sampdoria.
Here is how the top two teams in Italy would line up on the sixth matchday of action.
Juventus
Eight time defending champions Juventus are two points adrift of table-toppers Internazionale, after 5 matchdays of the 2019-20 season. The Bianconeri have won both their home games this season (4-3 against Napoli and 2-1 against Hellas Verona) but are yet to keep a clean-sheet.
On the sixth matchday, Juventus welcome SPAL to the Juventus stadium in Torino. In 36 previous Serie A meetings between the two sides, the Bianconeri have triumphed on 22 occasions while losing only twice. SPAL are winless in their 18 previous visits to Juventus, managing to draw only 5 games.
Last season, Juventus lost 2-1 away at SPAL and won 2-0 at home. Juventus haven't dropped points in 6 home games against SPAL since a 1-1 stalemate in the 1962-63 season.
SPAL are one of 16 clubs against whom Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in a Serie A game. However, the 34-year-old Portugal captain would look to improve on a rare 'dismal' record in his impressive football CV.
Ronaldo is the second-worst free-kick taker in the history of Serie A, failing to score off 18 free-kicks in the Italian top-flight. Camilo Ciano, with 21 attempts, is the only other player with more attempts without scoring from a free-kick.
However, the Portuguese, who is recovering from an adductor problem, is a doubtful starter for the SPAL game. Georgio Chiellini, Mattia Perin, Marko Pjaca, Mattia Di Sciglio, Douglas Costa and Danilo continue to remain sidelined due to injuries.
In Ronaldo's absence, the Argentine duo of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala would lead the Juve frontline and look for midfield inspiration from Miralem Pjanic, who scored the winner against Brescia in midweek.
Matthijs De Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci are likely to start as Juve's first-choice centrebacks. Wojciech Szczęsny is expected to continue in goal, as Juventus look for their third home win in the league and their first cleansheet of the season against the 19th-placed side in the league who have scored 5 and conceded 11 times this season.
Ahead of their clash with league leaders Inter next weekend, the Bianconeri, despite their plethora of injuries, are expected to be too powerful at home for their modest visitors. However, Juventus would need no reminding of their shock 2-1 defeat at SPAL last season.
Internazionale
In one of their best starts to a Serie A season, Internazionale extended their perfect record in the 2019-20 season to 5-0 after a solitary goal win over Lazio at home.
Antonio Conte, in the process, became the first Inter coach to win his first five games in charge of the Nerazzurri.
It marked the 24th instance, and Inter's 4th (also 1966-67, 2002-03, 2015-16), of a Serie A club winning its opening five games of the season.
On matchday-6, table-toppers Inter travel to bottom-placed Sampdoria. In the previous 124 league meetings between the two sides, Inter won 67 times (which includes 29 away wins) and lost on 20 occasions.
Last season, Inter did the double over Sampdoria, winning 2-1 at the San Siro and 1-0 away. Sampdoria's last win over Inter at home came in a solitary goal victory in 2014-15.
Inter's new striker Romelu Lukaku has scored three Serie A goals in five games and would be the go-to man for the Nerazzurri at the Luigi Ferraris.
Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic has kept four clean sheets in five games this season, having conceded his and Inter's only league goal in a 2-1 win at Cagliari on matchday-2. In stark contrast, Sampdoria (along with SPAL and Lecce) have conceded a league-high 11 goals this season.
There are no suspensions or injury worries for Inter going into the game against Sampdoria.
A win at the Luigi Ferraris would make Conte the fourth coach in the last 25 years to win the opening six games of the season (also Ciro Ferrara for Juventus in 2009, Rudi Garcia for Roma in 2013 and Massimiliano Allegri for Juventus in 2014).