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Juventus’ fine Serie A form has fired them into fourth spot — but second-placed Lazio will test the Old Lady’s mettle on Sunday night.
Top-four chasers Atalanta and Inter Milan are set for a heavyweight clash of their own this weekend, while league leaders Napoli can continue their hot streak at home to Udinese.
Elsewhere reigning champions AC Milan host Fiorentina at the San Siro as they bid to stay in touch with Luciano Spalletti’s table-toppers.
And Roma will be looking to revive their stuttering form by claiming victory over Torino in the capital.
Game of the week: Juventus vs Lazio (Sunday, 7.45pm)
Juventus’ five-game winning streak in Serie A has catapulted them into the top four and they face a Lazio side that have won three of their last four league outings.
The pair boast the best two defences in the league this term and the abundance of quality in their ranks suggests this will be a close contest.
Lazio skipper Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is the division’s top creator with seven assists and his ability to supply the Biancocelesti’s fluid frontline could be key in a match of fine margins.
Juve boss Max Allegri will hope that Moise Kean continues his fine form against the visitors’ stubborn rearguard — the 22-year-old’s winner against Verona in midweek was his second in three league games.
Atalanta vs Inter Milan (Sunday, 11.30am)
Ahead of Inter Milan’s visit to Bergamo, Atalanta’s season has hit an abrupt dip with three defeats in four games seeing them slide down the table.
After 10 matches, the hosts were the only team other than Napoli yet to lose in Serie A and sat second in the league — now they are sixth and level on points with their visitors.
That is because Inter have moved in the opposite direction, winning five of their last six to narrow the gap to the top four to just one point.
A 6-1 thrashing of Bologna last time out means the Nerazzurri are now the league’s second-most prolific side with 31 goals in 14 games.
Napoli vs Udinese (Saturday, 2pm)
Leaders Napoli have won 10 Serie A games in a row — and there is little reason to doubt their capacity to make it 11 against Udinese.
They are the only unbeaten team in Italy’s top flight and one of just two sides in Europe’s top five leagues yet to lose, alongside Paris Saint-Germain.
Remarkably, Udinese have drawn five of their last six league outings but despite having the joint-fifth best defensive record in the top flight, their chances of keeping the division’s highest scorers (34 goals) at bay appear to be slim.
AC Milan vs Fiorentina (Sunday, 5pm)
Milan have by no means defended their title poorly — picking up a more than respectable 30 points from their first 14 league games.
But just one win in their last three Serie A outings has seen the gap between the Rossoneri and runaway leaders Napoli grow to eight points.
To make matters worse, Fiorentina are in fine form with five victories in a row across all competitions and will fancy their chances of causing an upset against Stefano Pioli’s out-of-sorts side.
Roma vs Torino (Sunday, 2pm)
Jose Mourinho’s Roma face Torino having dropped off after a solid start to the season, winning one and drawing one of their past four fixtures.
Defeat to Lazio in the Derby della Capitale last week was followed up by a draw at Sassuolo and now they face a Torino side with four wins in their previous five encounters across all competitions.
Their tally of 15 goals scored is the lowest in the top half of the Serie A table — but they have been efficient of late and can certainly cause problems when they visit the Stadio Olimpico.
The weekend’s other games
Empoli vs Cremonese (Friday, 7.45pm)
Sampdoria vs Lecce (Saturday, 5pm)
Bologna vs Sassuolo (Saturday, 7.45pm)
Monza vs Salernitana (Sunday, 2pm)
Verona vs Spezia (Sunday, 2pm)
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.
