Forbidden to make mistakes. Inter, Lazio and, albeit to a lesser extent, Atalanta are preparing for matchday five (which started yesterday with the 3-3 fireworks between Sassuolo and Turin) knowing he can no longer afford missteps, on pain of making life in the standings enormously complicated. The speech, obviously, concerns above all Conte and Inzaghi, because if it is true that Gasperini is back from the defeat in Naples, it is also that he redeemed himself in the Champions League. Which, as everyone knows, Lazio has also done, but the only 4 points collected so far require a breakthrough, otherwise there will be pain. However, the greatest pressure comes from Inter, the only one to fail, albeit partially, even in the big-eared cup.
The draw in extremis against Borussia Moenchengladbach, if possible, further raised the media fuss around the Viale Liberazione club, making today's victory on the Genoa field almost obligatory (18 pm). “I see as much negativity on the outside as positivity on the inside – Conte retorted at the press conference -. I'm not worried because we are playing well, collecting much less than we are producing, since so far no one has managed to put us under. The path taken is the right one, it makes me, the players and the club happy." It will be, yet there are several worrying figures, capable of turning on much more than a warning light on the Nerazzurri dashboard.
The most evident concerns the defensive phase, with 10 goals conceded in just 5 games: alarming numbers that cannot be explained only by the absences, however undeniable, that are decimating Conte's squad. Yesterday Young and Hakimi finally turned negative, possibly enlisting for Shakhtar, certainly not for Genoa, where Skriniar, Gagliardini, Radu and the injured Vecino and Sanchez will also be missing. In short, the much-vaunted abundance is temporarily in the attic, with the consequence of having to play for heavy points (in the league, but above all on Tuesday in Europe) always with the same men. At Marassi it will still be 3-4-1-2 (Conte doesn't even want to consider a change of form, despite the many criticisms received) with Handanovic in goal, D'Ambrosio, De Vrij and Bastoni in defense, Darmian, Vidal, Brozovic and Perisic in midfield, Barella behind the usual offensive duo Lukaku-Lautaro.
On the other hand, the emergency is semi-completed for Genoa, which has almost recovered all the positives for Covid: the swabs leave only Males in fiduciary isolation, but it is clear that Maran will still have to wait at least a week to return to using the whole squad. The rossoblu coach will try to take advantage of Inter's bad moment relying on a 3-5-2 with Perin between the posts, Goldaniga, Zapata and Masiello in the back, Ghiglione, Behrami, Badelj, Rovella and Czyborra in the midfield, Pandev and Shomurodov in attack. Immediately after the Marassi match it will be the turn of Lazio, engaged at the Olimpico against Bologna (20.45 pm). Very delicate match for both, given that the biancocelesti only collected 4 points and the rossoblù even one less. The premises, especially for Inzaghi's team, were very different, but it must be said that an important response arrived on Tuesday: there is time to start again in the league, provided we do it as early as tonight.
“We had a great match against Borussia, we had a completely different match against Sampdoria three days earlier – admitted the Biancoceleste coach -. I think it is mainly due to the reasons that, for a team like Lazio, must never be lacking: against Bologna we will have to have humility, malice and conviction, just like on Tuesday". The problem though is that the squad is very valid in the starting eleven and decidedly less in the reserves, which is why the yield can drop dramatically from one match to another. Inzaghi knows this, which is why he will try to reduce the turnover in view of Bruges to just Strakosha, Milinkovic-Savic and Lazzari: key men, of course, but needing to catch their breath. Tonight's 3-5-2 will be made up of Reina in goal, Patric, Luiz Felipe and Acerbi in defense, Marusic, Akpa Akpro, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto and Fares in midfield, Correa and Immobile in attack.
Mihajlovic, also in need of points after the defeat against Sassuolo, will respond with a 4-2-3-1 with Skorupski in goal, De Silvestri, Danilo, Tomiyasu and Hickey in the back, Schouten and Svanberg in the midfield, Orsolini, Soriano and Barrow behind the lone striker Palacio. However, they will be the ones to inaugurate the Serie A Saturday Atalanta and Sampdoria, engaged in the match at 15pm. A tantalizing match that of Bergamo, with two opposing philosophies in comparison: on the one hand Gasperini and his champagne football, on the other Ranieri and his pragmatism. Both have worked well up to now, as demonstrated by a ranking that sees the players from Bergamo on 9 points and the Blucerchiati on 6. The elements for a good match are all there, with a slight extra pressure for Atalanta: top-ranking ambitions, in fact, they pass for a win.
“Sampdoria are a valuable opponent, but it's obvious that there's a second thought about Ajax – admitted Gasperini -. In fact, by winning on Tuesday, we would already take an important advantage in the group". In short, the priority is the Champions League, but Atalanta, unlike Lazio, has structured its squad precisely for the double commitment. Today's 3-4-1-2, net of the announced turnover, it will still be competitive with Sportiello in goal, Sutalo, Palomino and Djimsiti in defense, Hateboer, Pasalic, Freuler and Mojica in midfield, Gomez behind the offensive duo made up of Ilicic and Zapata. On the other hand, no distractions for Ranieri, who will attempt the coup with a 4-2-3-1 formation that will see Audero in goal, Bereszynski, Yoshida, Tonelli and Augello in the back, Ekdal and Thorsby in midfield, Damsgaard, Ramirez and Jankto behind of the only Quagliarella tip.
