Assault on power. Milan's draw in Udine puts a really big asterisk on first place, because today theInter could overtake and leap to the lead, the Napoli the hookup and theAtalanta a resounding close to just two points. In short, the three pursuers have a great chance to change the standings, provided however that they win their respective matches.
The most affordable, at least on paper, seems to be that of Inzaghi, who this evening will host ex Mazzarri's Cagliari at San Siro (20.45 pm), with no victories since last October 17, while Spalletti and, above all, Gasperini they will have to see with the more insidious Empoli (18) and Verona (15). Tiredness is a lot these days, especially for those who, like Napoli and Atalanta, played on Thursday evening, but the margin for error is small, otherwise the great opportunity offered by Udinese should be thrown away. The speech, as previously mentioned, is especially true for Inter, who aim to liquidate Cagliari and take first place at Milan's expense. Inzaghi, silent yesterday as always after the cup matches, wants to take advantage of his team's excellent moment of form, certified by the 4 consecutive victories collected between Naples, Venice, Spezia and Rome, especially as he will face an opponent who is recovering (4 draws in a row), but unable to get out of the quicksand of the relegation zone.
The idea, aided by a calendar that is anything but prohibitive (after Cagliari it will be the turn of Salernitana and Turin), is to arrive at the Christmas break with a 3-in-a-row, thus making the most of the next direct match between Milan and Napoli. To do this, you need to maintain the concentration shown in the last few matches, where Inter have never had any approach problems, attacking any opponent with the same determination. The iron must be beaten while it remains hot, which is why Inzaghi will limit the turnover to a minimum, setting up a 5-2-XNUMX with Handanovic in goal, Skriniar, De Vrij and Bastoni in defense, Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu and Perisic in midfield, Sanchez and Lautaro in attack, with Dzeko ready to take over from the bench.
Same game system also for the Cagliari, who will respond with Cragno between the posts, Caceres, Ceppitelli and Carboni in the back department, Bellanova, Grassi, Marin, Deiola and Dalbert in the midfield, Joao Pedro and Keita as an offensive couple. Shortly before it will be the turn of Napoli, who will receive the terrible freshman Empoli at Maradona. An opponent not to be underestimated, as can be seen from the 23 points collected so far by the Tuscans, complete with excellent scalps such as Juventus and Fiorentina.
"Empoli must be evaluated with great attention, they have a ranking that allows them to have light-heartedness - he confirmed Spalletti -. They are offering great football, we know very well that to win this challenge we will have to play our best and show a top performance". The technician again disqualified after expulsion with Sassuolo, he recovers Insigne, Anguissa and Lozano, but only for the bench: nothing to do instead for Fabian Ruiz, absent like Koulibaly and the long-term patient Osimhen. The blue 4-2-3-1 will thus see Ospina in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus and Mario Rui in defense, Demme and Zielinski in midfield, Politano, Ounas and Elmas in the trocar, Mertens in attack.
Andreazzoli, on the other hand, will confirm the classic 4-3-1-2 with Vicario in goal, Stojanovic, Romagnoli, Luperto and Parisi in the back, Haas, Ricci and Zurkowski in the midfield, Bajrami behind the offensive duo made up of Cutrone and Pinamonti. The most delicate match, however, is probably that of Atalanta, who are forced to go to Verona just three days after the bad defeat against Villarreal. The postponement to Thursday took away 24 hours of rest from the Goddess, who in fact tried to postpone today's match, however finding an insurmountable obstacle in the calendar, given that on Wednesday Hellas will have the Coppa Italia. Gasperini will thus have to be good at recharging his legs and head, especially since the elimination from the Champions League, unexpected in some ways, may have left too much slag.
Compared to Thursday, in fact, there will be some turnover, for a 3-4-1-2 with Musso in goal, Toloi, Palomino and Djimsiti in defense, Zappacosta, De Roon, Freuler and Maehle in midfield, Pasalic in the front , Ilicic and Zapata in attack. Tudor, reassured by the great comeback from Venice, will try to take advantage of any creaks from the Goddess with the usual 3-4-2-1 with Montipò between the posts, Casale, Magnani and Ceccherini in the back department, Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso and Lazovic in midfielder, Barak and Caprari behind the lone striker Simeone.
Further back in the standings, but still important for the Europe area, the challenge between Sassuolo and Lazio (18pm), with Sarri determined to give continuity to the success achieved in Genoa last Sunday and hook up with Juventus. The points from fourth place are 9, certainly a lot but on the 17th day, with even more than one group ahead, we certainly cannot give up, provided however that we find a noteworthy marching speed. The coach, forced to do without the suspended Milinkovic-Savic, will try with the trademark of his creed, or 4-3-3 with Strakosha in goal, Hysaj, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi and Marusic in defense, Luis Alberto, Cataldi and Basic in midfield, Felipe Anderson, Immobile and Zaccagni in attack. Dionisi's Sassuolo, who proved to be particularly inspired against the greats (victories with Juventus and Milan and a draw with Napoli), will respond with the same game system with Consigli between the posts, Toljan, Chiriches, Ferrari and Rogerio in the back department, Frattesi, Lopez and Henrique in the median, Berardi, Scamacca and Raspadori in the offensive trident.
