MY ACCOUNT
Roma will seek to bounce back from a calamitous 3-1 loss at AC Milan on Thursday but will face a tough task when they host Juventus.
Jose Mourinho saw his side have two men sent off and concede two penalties at the San Siro and need to turn around a recent slump to stay in touch with their fellow Champions League chasers.
Milan can go top, albeit temporarily, with victory at struggling Venezia while city rivals Inter Milan will see their title credentials tested by the visit of Lazio.
Elsewhere, Napoli host Sampdoria and Cagliari take on Bologna, in another action-packed round of Serie A action.
Game of the week: Roma vs Juventus (Sunday, 5.30pm)
Roma go into this game after suffering their eighth league loss of the season against high-flying Milan.
That defeat means it is now just two league wins in six for Mourinho’s side, who saw both Rick Karsdorp and Gianluca Mancini dismissed against the Rossoneri.
They now face an improving Juventus who are unbeaten in six league fixtures, winning four and drawing two.
Federico Chiesa’s equaliser secured a credible 1-1 draw against Napoli on Thursday and the Old Lady will be looking to continue their good form when they head to the capital.
Here are the other big games to watch this weekend…
Venezia vs AC Milan (Sunday, 11.30am)
After dropping points in consecutive games during December, Milan are firmly back in the title race after wins against Empoli and Roma.
Stefano Pioli’s men will be looking to keep the pressure on Inter with a third win on the bounce in Venice.
Olivier Giroud has netted five Serie A goals this season — already one more than he did last term with Chelsea — and scored his first since October last time out.
Venezia have gone six games without a win and are slowly being dragged into the relegation battle despite a promising start to the season.
The hosts are just four points clear of the drop zone and will need to start picking up points soon if they are to avoid going straight back down to Serie B.
Inter Milan vs Lazio (Sunday, 7.45pm)
League leaders Inter sit one point ahead of Milan with a game in hand but will need to be at their best to emerge victorious from Sunday’s clash with Lazio.
The visitors’ form has been patchy but Maurizio Sarri’s team can beat anyone on their day and have already defeated Simone Inzaghi’s men this season, winning their home game 3-1 in October.
That remains Inter’s only loss of the Serie A campaign so far. They are currently on a run of 11 games unbeaten in the league, having won their last seven.
The Nerazzurri may be slightly rusty as they prepare to face Inzaghi’s former employers, however, with Thursday’s game at Bologna called off at short notice due to the hosts’ coronavirus outbreak.
The game is set to feature a battle between two of the best marksmen in Italy — Lautaro Martinez and Ciro Immobile have 25 league goals between them this term.
Should Immobile find the net in this encounter, he would become only the third player to score 15-plus goals in each of the last six campaigns in the top five European leagues after Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski.
Napoli vs Sampdoria (Sunday, 3.30pm)
Napoli’s draw with Juventus on Thursday saw them drop further points in their hunt for a first league title since 1990.
The home side are on a poor run of form after starting the season so impressively and have now won just two of their last nine league games.
The visit of Sampdoria could be the perfect tonic for Luciano Spalletti’s men — Napoli have won 11 of the last 12 league meetings between the two sides and all of the last six.
Dries Mertens is likely to be the hosts’ creative spark — the Belgian forward has three goals and two assists in his last four games against Sunday’s opponents and was on target in the draw at Juventus.
Cagliari vs Bologna (Sunday, 1.30pm)
Cagliari started the new year on a positive note with a comeback 2-1 win at Sampdoria on Thursday to breathe life into their bid for safety.
The Sardinians’ victory was their first since October and only their second this season.
Bologna meanwhile sit safely in mid-table thanks to their array of young talent.
This includes Scottish wing-back Aaron Hickey, 19, who could soon be joined by 18-year-old compatriot Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen if rumours in the Italian media are to be believed.
The visitors are plagued with coronavirus issues, however, which could offer Cagliari the chance to secure a fourth-straight home league win against Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side.
This weekend’s other games
Empoli vs Sassuolo (Sunday, 11.30am)
Torino vs Fiorentina (Sunday, 1.30pm)
Udinese vs Atalanta (Sunday, 3.30pm)
Genoa vs Spezia (Sunday, 5.30pm)
Verona vs Salernitana (Sunday, 7.45pm)
Follow each game with our unbeatable live scores service. Simply tap the Scores tab on the web or download the LiveScore app from the App Store for iOS devices or Google Play for Android.
