Third place, below whose turn it is. The fight for the lowest step of the podium continues very tightly and, thanks to the calendar, he will experience two more days of passion. It begins tonight with Cagliari-Milan, Inter-Sampdoria, Fiorentina-Udinese and Atalanta-Naples, and ends tomorrow with the postponement of Verona-Lazio. There are many suitors precisely because, at least until now, no one has had the strength to break away from the big group. Milan could have done it, but the draw with Fiorentina, albeit in the order of things, has slowed down the race a bit. The Rossoneri will try to restart it against Zeman's Cagliari, for a very fascinating match between two teams that score a lot and pay little attention to the defensive phase.
“They are very dangerous, plus they have a great coach – Inzaghi's politically correct thinking. – Two philosophies that are exalted in speed face each other, with attacks that can make the most of the restarts”. True, although perhaps this idea of football does not fascinate Berlusconi that much. Which, during the interval between Milan and Fiorentina, he went down to the locker room to suggest to the coach the use of Torres, who then took over only in the final.
"I always listen to the president but then, in the end, I decide" replied Superpippo, however oriented to deploying the Spaniard from the first minute. In fact, he should be the beacon of the attack, with Honda and El Shaarawy making up the rest of the trident. For the rest, the lineup was the same as last Sunday's, with Abbiati in goal, Alex and Zapata in central defense and the Poli-De Jong-Muntari trio in midfield. Zeman, reassured by a finally full Sant'Elia (the usability has been increased to 16 spectators), will respond with the classic 4-3-3, with Ibarbo, Sau and Cossu as mouths of fire from the rossoblu trident.
More epee and less foil, at least on paper, in San Siro where Inter and Sampdoria will compete. The match has many points of interest, above all the confrontation between Mazzarri and Mihajlovic, the present and, perhaps, the future of the Nerazzurri bench. “Who wouldn't like to coach Inter? – admitted Sinisa at the press conference. – But I have great respect for my colleagues, and right now I'm only thinking about my team." Although the standings would say otherwise, the pressure is obviously all on Mazzarri, called to give continuity of results after the victory in Cesena. Thohir's denials don't erase the substance: the coach is under examination, that's why tonight he absolutely can't go wrong.
“We have to do as against Napoli, both us and the fans – WM's speech. – I want aggression and sacrifice, moments of difficulty are overcome together”. The impression, however, is that the players will have to drag the crowd against a team in form that is a lot of concern. “Sampdoria is doing well, the numbers speak for themselves – admitted the Inter manager. – We, on the other hand, are in an emergency even if we have done well lately”.
Compared to the Manuzzi match, the only change is the return of Vidic in Campagnaro's place, for the rest of the line-up obligatory with Obi and Dodò on the wings, Hernanes, Medel and Kovacic in midfield and the Palacio-Icardi duo in attack. Mihajlovic will respond with the usual chameleon-like 4-3-3, ready to transform into a 4-2-3-1 when not in possession of the ball. Cacciatore will return to Regini's place, otherwise the anti-Rome formation confirmed with the trident Gabbiadini-Okaka-Eder to act as a bogeyman.
Night of confirmations also for Napoli, engaged in Bergamo against Atalanta. A historically difficult away match for the Azzurri, who left Atleti Azzurri d'Italia last year with broken bones (3-0, two goals from Denis and Maxi Moralez). "We mustn't underestimate them, we'll only think about Roma from Thursday" thundered Benitez, looking for continuity that would give his team impetus. “Physically we're fine, it's the defensive phase that makes me angry – continued Rafa. – If we improve we will really be able to reach the top, but for the moment we are far away”. The Spaniard, usually very open to turnover, this time could confirm most of the men seen on the pitch last Sunday.
The only certain change is the return from the first minute of Inler in place of Jorginho, for the rest of the formation confirmed with Callejon and Insigne alongside the "rediscovered" Hamsik and Higuain. Up front there will be a fierce Atalanta but in a clear crisis of play and results, as demonstrated by the defeat in Udine. Colantuono, even under discussion for the first time, will change many men in search of a crisis-busting victory. Untouchable, up front, German Denis, already last year avenger of Naples.
