MY ACCOUNT
Serie A leaders Napoli have not lost in the league this season — and they will be looking to continue that unbeaten record by securing a result against Empoli.
Reigning champions AC Milan have battled their way into second place but cannot afford to drop points when they visit Cremonese.
Elsewhere, Juventus will expect to continue their recent resurgence at bottom side Verona, while Inter Milan can bounce back from Sunday’s defeat to the Old Lady against Bologna.
Lazio catapulted themselves into third with a derby win last time out and will expect to build on that momentum as Monza pay them a visit.
Game of the week: Napoli vs Empoli (Tuesday, 5.30pm)
Napoli’s victory over Atalanta last Saturday was a significant boost to their Scudetto hopes.
Not only did the win grant them a six-point gap at the top of the table, it also extended their winning run to nine consecutive Serie A games.
In fact, Luciano Spalletti’s side have only lost once in all competitions this term — a 2-0 defeat away to Liverpool in the Champions League, having already secured qualification by winning each of their first five group matches.
The Partenopei will certainly expect to extend that record to 10 straight league victories when Empoli — who have just three wins and are the joint-second lowest scorers (10 goals) in the league — come to Naples.
Cremonese vs AC Milan (Tuesday, 7.45pm)
AC Milan’s victory over Spezia on Saturday allowed them to capitalise on Atalanta’s defeat and move into second place.
Their next opponents are Cremonese, who are the only side yet to record a victory in Serie A this season.
Despite that fact, they are not bottom of the league and sit above both Verona and Sampdoria in 18th place.
Massimiliano Alvini’s men have claimed three draws from their last four league outings — but the Rossoneri are likely to condemn them to an eighth defeat of the campaign.
Verona vs Juventus (Thursday, 5.30pm)
After a disappointing start to the season, Juventus have now won four Serie A games on the spin and have moved up to fifth, just two points off the top four.
Impressively, the Bianconeri have not conceded in any of those four games and they will expect another shutout victory on Thursday.
Verona are bottom of the league with a mere five points, suffering 10 defeats in 13 games — including the last eight in a row.
Furthermore, Salvatore Bocchetti’s unit have had a man sent off in three of their previous five outings — an issue they will need to correct to avoid a humiliating scoreline against Max Allegri’s team.
Inter Milan vs Bologna (Wednesday, 7.45pm)
Inter Milan were beginning to build some momentum after a poor start to the campaign — but their four-game winning run in Serie A was halted in its tracks by Juventus.
Inter sit seventh, with five defeats from 13 league outings this term, though fourth-placed Atalanta are just three points ahead of them — providing plenty of incentive to claim victory at San Siro when Bologna visit on Wednesday.
Interestingly, the Nerazzurri are the only team in Italy’s top flight who have yet to draw a game this term.
Only the top two sides have scored more goals in the division than Inter’s 25 but they will need to improve their defensive record of 19 goals conceded. The five clubs with worse tallies are all in the bottom six of the league.
Lazio vs Monza (Thursday, 7.45pm)
Lazio have quietly been enjoying a solid season and their derby victory over Roma has seen them move into third place.
Like Inter Milan, they have only been outscored by Napoli (32) and AC Milan (27) but their defensive record is impeccable too, with just eight goals conceded in 13 games — only Juventus (seven) have let in fewer.
Maurizio Sarri’s squad includes Serie A’s top assister this term in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has set up seven goals from midfield, as well as scoring three times himself.
Monza will be wary of the Serbian’s threat when they visit the capital, with only the bottom four clubs in the division shipping more than their 21 goals against.
The week’s other games
Spezia vs Udinese (Tuesday, 5.30pm)
Lecce vs Atalanta (Wednesday, 5.30pm)
Sassuolo vs Roma (Wednesday, 5.30pm)
Fiorentina vs Salernitana (Wednesday, 7.45pm)
Torino vs Sampdoria (Wednesday, 7.45pm)
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