Serie A preview: Milan eye comeback as Inter look to continue resurgence
It was a bad week for Italian teams in the Champions League as AC Milan and Roma both suffered home reverses to Tottenham Hotspur and knockout round debutants Shakhtar Donetsk respectively. They will be looking to bounce back with a good showing in this week’s Serie A fixtures and build some momentum for the next leg.
League leaders AC Milan suffered a severe setback in the 1-0 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. The match highlighted Milan’s problem of ageing legs as they couldn’t live with the London team’s pace and were largely outplayed in a dirty encounter where tempers flared. On Sunday, the Rossoneri travel to 12th placed Chievo. A win at Chievo is vital to Massimiliano Allegri’s side as a tough schedule awaits them in the league as they face Napoli and Juventus back to back and could lose points potentially and see their lead at the top being cut. With the in-form Antonio Cassano back after missing the Champions League tie, things should be easy for the leaders on Sunday.
Milan's top scorer Ibrahimovic and the in-form Cassano have the task of erasing memories of the Champions League heartbreak and push on in the league
Sunday also sees second placed Napoli host 16th placed Catania who are fighting to avoid relegation. Napoli have been enjoying a good run of form of late thanks to leading goal scorer Edinson Cavani’s red hot form (20 goals in the Serie A) and defeated Roma convincingly 2-0 in their last league match. A win over Catania, who are 2 points off the relegation zone will mean Napoli could go joint top if Milan lose.
Defending champions Inter Milan, who are placed third in the Serie A table and five points off AC Milan will face 9th placed Cagliari at the San Siro on Saturday. Inter beat Fiorentina 2-1 away in the midweek fixtures and thus recorded their fourth win in their last 5 matches. With the Champions League knockout match against last season’s finalists Bayern Munich looming large, Leonardo’s side will be looking to continue their impressive run of form and resurgence in the league where they occupied 7th spot at one point of time. The return to form of Wesley Sneijder, Thiago Motta and Diego Milito along with the continuing goal scoring run of Samuel Eto’o mean Inter are in total control ahead of the weekend’s clash.
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Currently lying 4th, Lazio saw Inter overtake them after last week’s results. Currently two points off Inter, a win over bottom most team Bari on Sunday could see Lazio get back into the top three with a little help from Inter and keep their hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
AS Roma, currently in a false position after the brewing ownership trouble, two straight league defeats to Inter and Napoli and the growing dressing room tussle between captain Totti and manager Ranieri. In the Champions League last 16 round match at home, the Giallorosi lost 3-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk and saw their problems compound by standing on the brink of yet another Champions League heartbreak. On Sunday, they take on Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris and hope for a victory to alter their plummeting fortunes.
Juventus shocked Inter last weekend with a 1-0 win and Cagliari the weekend before that with a 3-1, and thus travel to relegation threatened Lecce on Sunday with fine momentum. Fiorentina host Sampdoria, Palermo travel to Bologna, Parma face Cesena and Udinese host Brescia to round off the Serie A fixtures for the weekend.