Last call. For Milan, forced to win in Verona (15 pm) to continue to nurture hopes of the Scudetto, for Napoli, whose Champions League ambitions necessarily include a success against Bologna (20.45 pm) and partly for Roma, unable to miss the internal match with Genoa (12.30). Juve's victory leaves Lazio at a safe distance, but definitely raises the bar up there: whoever wants to stay there, at this point, must respond presently, otherwise they risk being sucked down.
“We only look at our performances and our results, we must be convinced of our possibilities, we cannot limit ourselves to looking at the others, it would be limiting – Pioli retorted -. We can do well against Verona and have our say, we want to win. And then the championship is still long, even if the matches get heavier and heavier...". It seems to have gone back a week, when the Devil was preparing to face Rome in a climate of great skepticism.
The trip to Verona, in the light of the midweek misstep with Udinese, arrives in a similar scenario, if not for two differences: Hellas, despite having a lower technical rate than the Giallorossi, knows how to take points in the big leagues (only Inter and Rome have managed to beat it), moreover the points of detachment from the leaders, from 4, have become 6 (7 considering the direct clashes). And then the Olimpico's Milan could count on Ibrahimovic, Calhanoglu and Rebic, while today's team will have to do without all three: the Croatian has in fact added himself to the list of unavailable due to inflammation of his right hip.
Here because Pioli will get involved in all departments, deploying a 4-2-3-1 with Donnarumma in goal, Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori and Hernandez in defense, Tonali and Kessié in midfield, Saelemaekers, Krunic and Castillejo (favorite over Hauge) in the frontline, Leao in attack. Heavy absences also for Juric, forced to give up Kalinic, Colley, Vieira and Tameze: his 3-4-2-1 will thus see Silvestri between the posts, Magnani, Gunter and Ceccherini in the back department, Faraoni, Sturaro, Veloso and Lazovic in the midfield, Barak and Zaccagni behind the lone striker Lasagna. However, Roma will open on Sunday, awaiting the home match against Genoa.
A match to be won at all costs, to follow up on the success in Florence, but also to continue the winning streak against the so-called "small" teams, which allowed the Giallorossi to cling to the Champions League despite their bad scores in the big matches. “We have improved almost in everything compared to last year, only the goals conceded change – replied Fonseca -. Now we only think about Genoa, it will be a difficult match: from what I've seen with Ballardini they are a very strong and very aggressive team who press very well. In any case, you play too much, physically so it's not human for the players … ".
The coach points the finger at the absences given that, once again, he will be forced to reinvent the defense, in light of the disqualification of Kumbulla and the injury of Ibanez, but above all he will have to give up Veretout, up to now the lighthouse of the midfield, in the pits for at least a month. His 3-4-2-1 will thus see Pau Lopez in goal, Mancini, Cristante and Smalling in defense, Karsdorp, Villar, Pellegrini and Spinazzola in midfield, Pedro and El Shaarawy (favorite over Mkhitaryan) behind lone striker Borja mayoral. Classic 3-5-2 instead for Ballardini, who after the draw in the derby will try to conquer the Olimpico with Perin in goal, Masiello, Radovanovic and Criscito in the back, Zappacosta, Zajc, Badelj, Strootman and Czyborra in the midfield, Scamacca and Shomurodov in attack.
If Roma want to win, Napoli are practically obliged to do so: if they fail again today against Bologna, in fact, continuing to talk about the Champions League would make very little sense. Reggio Emilia's daring 3-3 confirmed all the limits of a team unable to make breakthroughs, a prisoner of its own contradictions, both technical and temperamental. Tonight, however, the calendar offers a good chance, because Bologna seen in Cagliari is far from unbeatable, but not to fail for any reason: after, in fact, the Azzurri will face off in series with Milan, Juventus and Roma, so missteps are not allowed.
However, the environment continues to live on the verge of a nervous breakdown, as confirmed by Insigne's outburst (in favor of the cameras) after Sassuolo's 3-3, complete with hard to interpret "appreciation" towards teammates ("what a team of m ...."). In any case, the Azzurri aren't cut out yet, on the contrary, they still have plenty of time to reach their Champions League goal, provided, however, that they begin seriously marching in the right direction. Gattuso, silent on the press as in recent weeks, loses Bakayoko due to a physical problem, but finds Osimhen again: the 4-2-3-1 thus returns to resemble the "typical" one, with Ospina in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly and Ghoulam in defense, Fabian Ruiz and Demme in midfield, Politano, Zielinski and Insigne on the frontline, Osimhen in attack.
The same game system also for Mihajlovic, who will respond with Skorupski in goal, De Silvestri, Danilo, Soumaoro and Mbaye in the back, Svanberg and Poli in the midfield, Skov Olsen, Soriano and Sansone behind the lone striker Palacio, preferred at the disappointing Barrow of late.
