Hunting for the winter title. The 18th matchday could award the 'first leg of the championship', provided that theInter manage to conquer the GenoVa rossoblu: if this were the case, in fact, Juventus would no longer have any chance of taking the lead, regardless of the challenges with Roma e Salernitana. However, not only this is up for grabs, but also very important Champions League points, in light of an increasingly short and confusing ranking involving numerous teams. Today it's up to Fiorentina, Napoli e Lazio, respectively engaged with Torino, Monza e Frosinone, while tomorrow will be the turn of Milan, Bologna, Atalanta and Rome, all looking for a New Year's Eve to remember.
Genoa – Inter (20.45pm, Dazn)
Marassi will be the epicenter of this unusual Serie A Friday, because theInter of Inzaghi could certify the title of winter champion. A 'trophy' that has no place on the bulletin board, but which in 67% of cases means the Scudetto: in the previous 88, in fact, 59 times (including Napoli last year) the result remained the same even in May. The Nerazzurri coach, however, is part of the remaining 33%, given that in 2022 he finished second behind Pioli's Milan, despite the halfway point in the lead, which requires him to stay on track regardless, otherwise he risks an even worse burn. In any case, his Inter is literally flying, at least in the league, demonstrating that the second star, as reiterated by Zhang at the Christmas dinner, is truly the first objective. The Genoa, for his part, hopes to ruin the atmosphere a bit, at least by repeating the draw already seen against Juve. The rossoblu, moreover, make Marassi their safe, as can be seen from the 12 points won out of a total of 19: Gilardino, also a former AC Milan player, has already stopped Napoli, Roma and Juventus, therefore he would be very keen to close 2023 without affecting average.
Inzaghi: “It will be a difficult match in Genoa. 2024? We are very ambitious”
“It will be a hard-fought match because Genoa are in an excellent moment, they have quality players and a very prepared coach – the warning from Inzaghi -. We will need a careful match of great intensity, we are satisfied with our numbers so far but we will have to continue to do well in both the offensive and defensive phases. The secret lies in the great availability of all the players, the group is very solid and the boys get along well together. This has been a year full of satisfactions, we won a trophy and playing in the Champions League final was stimulating. Let's not forget what we have achieved, but we have a lot of ambition and with that we look to 2024."
Genoa – Inter, the lineups: Inzaghi still without Lautaro, Gila finds Retegui and Messias again
The Nerazzurri coach will have to do it again except for Lautaro e Marco's, still dealing with their respective muscle strains, but the bench will allow him to still field a more than competitive Inter, as seen against Lecce. His 3-5-2 will see Sommer in goal, Bisseck, Acerbi and Bastoni in defense, Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan and Carlos Augusto in midfield, Thuram and Arnautovic in attack. Two important recoveries instead for Gilardino, who finds Retegui and Messias again: only the former, however, will start from the beginning in his 3-5-2, made up of Martinez between the posts, Dragusin, Bani and De Winter in the defensive department, Sabelli, Malinovskyi, Badelj, Frendrup and Vasquez in midfield, Gudmundsson and, indeed, Retegui as an offensive pair.
Naples – Monza (18.30pm, Dazn)
Points that are also burning at Maradona, where the Napoli di Mazzarri will try to find the winning thread lost in the last two matches against Frosinone and Roma. For the Azzurri this is the first of a long series without Osimhen, disqualified after Olimpico's expulsion, because then the Africa Cup of Nations will start and the Nigerian will be out until at least January 22nd, the day of the last match of the group against Guinea-Bissau. The problem for the Azzurri is that the Eagles are among the favorites of the tournament, so they are likely to go well beyond the first phase, reaching the top until late February (the final, in fact, is scheduled for the 11th). Mazzarri will thus have to rely on Breakers e Simeon, but his problems go far beyond the African Cup, which will also deprive him of Anguissa: the emergency also concerns defense and midfield and only the transfer market (Elmas has already become a Leipzig player) could give him a hand. The names that are mentioned (Mazzocchi and Faraoni behind, Samardzic and Hojbjerg in the middle) are of an excellent level, but in the meantime we need to start scoring points again regardless, starting today. The Monza di Palladino, reduced by the defeats against Milan and Fiorentina, wants to resume its march, which further complicates Napoli's plans.
Mazzarri: “Osimhen must be protected! The market? Revolutions don't happen in January..."
“Osimhen's expulsion with Roma? Since his return this boy has been tormented from morning to night, at this moment he feels the responsibility of being someone who caused havoc last year, there are some errors of nervousness - he defended him Mazzarri -. I tend to excuse them not because he is a do-gooder, but because I think it's right. He will give us a lot when he returns from the Africa Cup, at this moment he must also be protected a little from all these things that are happening to us. The market? Revolutions don't happen in January, there isn't the material to be able to do them, at least I think. I prefer the club to talk about this, I want to help the players regain that confidence they had last year, playing well and trying to be balanced and not make careless mistakes and avoid mistakes."
Napoli – Monza, the lineups: Mazzarri without Osimhen and Politano, room for Simeone and Lindstrom
Besides osimhen, which we have talked about extensively, will also be missed politan, who was also sent off in the bullfight at the Olimpico, which will force Mazzarri to review two thirds of the attack. His 3-5-2, also deprived of Natan (dislocation of the shoulder, out of action for 40-45 days), will thus see Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus and Mario Rui in defense, Anguissa, Lobotka and Zielinski in midfield, Lindstrom (ahead of Zerbin), Simeone and Kvaratskhelia in attack, with Simeone ready to take over from the bench. Palladino, only one victory in the last six games, will respond with a 3-4-2-1 with Di Gregorio between the posts, Izzo, Caldirola and D'ambrosio in the defensive department, Pedro Pereira, Pessina, Gagliardini and Kyriakopoulos in the midfield, Colpani and Mota Carvalho behind the lone striker Colombo.
Lazio – Frosinone (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
To complete the picture of advances, in addition to Fiorentina-Torino (18.30pm, Dazn), also Lazio-Frosinone, with the Biancocelesti determined to follow up on the very important success of Empoli. Castellani's 3 points, in fact, allowed Sarri to stay on the train to Europe, but now he needs to keep running to restore luster to a still poor ranking. The home match against Frosinone represents a good opportunity, provided however that you know how to make the most of it: a misstep, in fact, would really risk dashing Lazio's hopes of a comeback. The opponent is a tough one, as we saw last Saturday against Juventus: the Ciociari from By Francesco, also a former Roma player, never give up playing and can create various problems. However, the Biancocelesti are superior from a technical point of view, so they must not be intimidated, regardless of the absences of Immobile and Luis Alberto, certainly not just any two. The ranking, moreover, says that Lazio can still return to the top positions, but it is clear that the path will have to be much quicker than what has been seen so far, otherwise the European ambitions could sadly vanish.
Lazio – Frosinone, the lineups: Immobile and Luis Alberto out, it's up to Castellanos and Kamada
Sarri he will thus have to give up two big guns like Property e Luis Alberto, to which must also be added Romagnoli, still dealing with calf muscle problems. Not the best for those who are forced to win at all costs, but the coach will try anyway with a 4-3-3 with Provedel in goal, Marusic, Gila, Patric (favourite over Casale, held back by an intestinal virus) and Pellegrini in defense, Guendouzi, Rovella and Kamada in midfield, Felipe Anderson, Castellanos and Zaccagni in attack. By Francesco, a Roma player inside, will attempt the coup with a 3-4-3 with Turati between the posts, Monterisi, Okoli and Romagnoli in the defensive department, Gelli, Brescianini, Barrenechea and Garritano in the midfield, Soulé, Kaio Jorge and Harroui in the attacking trident.
