Inter and Atalanta climb the rankings, now it's up to the others. Sunday in the championship promises to be hot, even more so after the Nerazzurri's successes Cremonese (1-2) and Sampdoriawhich further upset the rankings. There Champions fight thus becomes even more tangled, with Napoli-Roma, AC Milan-Sassuolo e Lazio-Fiorentina which assume a decidedly high value. And then there's the Juventus, detached after the penalty, but determined to shake off and start again at home against the Monza.
Cremonese – Inter 1-2, Inzaghi: “Victory of great character! Skriniar? Ask Marotta…”
Winning in Cremona was essential and Inter succeeded, albeit with the usual good dose of difficulties. In fact, Okereke's initial lead forced the Nerazzurri into a complicated match, in which he took over the chair from Lautaro Martinez: the Argentine it fixed all the problems with a very heavy brace, thus giving Inzaghi 3 gold points in a Champions League key. “I'm very happy, I congratulated the team – Inzaghi exulted – They made one great race, approached in the best way, Okereke's splendid goal could have complicated everything, but instead the boys stayed focused and concentrated. I'm very satisfied with the character we showed, we were coming off a bad defeat and their goal could have put us in difficulty. Skriniar? These questions should be asked Marotta and Auxiliary, he is a great professional and always trains at his best, then what will happen I don't know. I concentrate on the pitch and on the players I will have at my disposal."
Naples – Rome (20.45 pm, Dazn)
The big match on Sunday is that of Maradona, where the destinies of the Scudetto and the Champions League are dangerously intertwined. The Napoli wants to win to continue his run in the standings, the Roma to respond to Inter and Atalanta and not lose ground from fourth place: the stakes, in short, are heavy ones, with repercussions on various teams, for better or for worse. The points gap and the quality of the game make Spalletti the favourite, but Mourinho, in addition to being very good at preparing for this type of match, has returned from four wins (and a draw) in his last five matches, which suggests a challenge quite balanced.
Spalletti: "It's a direct clash, we have to pedal hard even in the second leg"
“Against Roma he is one direct confrontation, it will be a match to be enjoyed from a tactical point of view and the clash between players, three points are always a loot to take home and which are convenient - the warning of the blue coach -. Napoli is a cyclist who knows he has to compete with others who are equally strong, if not stronger, and must learn to stand upright on the pedals, never sitting down because he pushes himself less and you have to pedal hard until the end. Now the results of the others don't depend on us, but our behavior mustn't change: humility, great games and taking one step at a time. Let's think about the daily work, without looking beyond. I'm not thinking about a share of the Scudetto, I don't know how to do these maths. I was not good at math. All I know is that if we win the match we'll go up to 53 points."
Mourinho stings Zaniolo: "He's out of the project, he wants to leave but I was right..."
On the Rome front, on the other hand, in addition to the match, ithe Zaniolo case, which seriously risks dragging on at least until next summer. The player has decided to break with the Giallorossi, so much so that he pulled himself out of the challenges with Fiorentina and Spezia, without however having any buyers behind him: Milan and Tottenham, in fact, have called themselves out and Bournemouth, the only one to present an offer of 30 million cash, is not to his liking. The result is that now, just two days after the market closes, Zaniolo it is a separate in the house, because the break is definitive, as confirmed by Mourinho in the press conference. “He's been saying for a month that he wants to leave, but in the end, unfortunately, I was right and he's still here – explained the Portuguese-. For me it's easy to say that Nicolò is not available to the team, the focus now is on the next match and on who wants to fight with me for this club and these fans. Zaniolo is not part of the Napoli away project".
Naples – Rome, the formations: Spalletti finds Kvaratskhelia, Mou focuses everything on Dybala
It has no such problems Spalletti, who indeed will have the whole squad available, including Kvaratskhelia, recovered from the flu and therefore able and enlisted. The blue coach will thus be able to deploy the 4-3-3 like with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim and Mario Rui in defense, Anguissa, Lobotka and Zielinski in midfield, Lozano, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia in attack. Usual 3-4-2-1 Zaniolo aside, also for Mourinho, who will respond with Rui Patricio in goal, Mancini, Smalling and Ibanez in the back, Zalewski, Cristante, Matic and Spinazzola in the midfield, Dybala and Pellegrini behind the lone striker Abraham.
Milan – Sassuolo (12.30, Dazn and Sky Sport)
High voltage too at San Siro, where Milan di Pioli is called to give a signal of life after the heavy defeats of Riyadh and Rome. The poker collected by Lazio, in addition to extinguishing the residual hopes of the Scudetto, also put the Champions area at risk, so much so that the Devil will take the field in fourth place, overtaken by Inter and hooked up by Atalanta. A win against Sassuolo, in turn rather in trouble (the points against Verona third from last are getting dangerously thin), it is almost fundamental, especially since next Sunday there will be the derby and getting behind it would be really difficult to manage. Beyond the result, however, it is necessary to understand if Milan has just gone through a moment of down or if the crisis is a real one, because Pioli still has an entire group ahead of him and absolutely must find a way to restart.
Pioli admits: "We have to win, now that's all that matters"
"We just have to win, that's all that counts, even with a dirty game, the important thing is to be a concrete team – confirmed the Rossoneri coach bluntly -. I believe that to overcome this moment you need to have great capacity for compactness and turn the page. Thinking too much about what we should have done and could have done doesn't help us. We know we can do much better and we're happy to be back playing in front of our fans, who were a source of inspiration in Rome: they showed they were united and supported us. It's our turn now, now all that matters is winning."
Milan – Sassuolo, the formations: Bennacer suspended, temptation De Ketelaere owner
The situation is complex, especially as the infirmary continues to remain dangerously crowded: for a Theo Hernandez who recovers, in fact, there is a Tomori who stops (also at risk for the derby), as well as a disqualified Bennacer. Pioli will not waive this time either from 4-2-3-1 with Tatarusanu in goal, Calabria, Kjaer, Kalulu and Hernandez in defense, Krunic and Tonali in midfield, Saelemaekers, De Ketelaere (ballot with Diaz) and Leao in the trocar, Giroud in attack. Dionisi, refreshed in the slightest part by the draw in Monza, will respond with a 4-3-3 with Pegolo between the posts, Toljan, Erlic, Ferrari and Rogerio in the back department, Frattesi, Lopez and Traoré in the midfield, Berardi, Defrel and Laurienté in the offensive trident.
Juventus – Monza (15 pm, Dazn)
In the afternoon the spotlights will move to Turin, where the Juventus di Allegri will look for 3 fundamental points against the Monza, both for ranking and for morale. The comeback towards the European areas, courts permitting, passes from a string of victories and it is clear that the Lady, after last Sunday's draw with Atalanta, must already start it today with the Brianza players. It is useless to reiterate how the moment is very delicate, given that every other day very worrying indiscretions about the legal proceedings emerge, but Allegri and the players must isolate themselves and try to think about the pitch: only in this way can Juve's season once again have a sense.
Allegri asks for compactness: "We must be a block of granite"
"We have to get results against Monza, right now you have to be a granite block between the team, the fans and the club – underlined the Juventus coach -. We arrive at this challenge after two games in which we made a defeat and a draw. We conceded 8 goals, we absolutely need to improve and go back to our old habits. We face a Monza who play well, they have already done well in the Coppa Italia, it will be an important match. Let's remember that this team has scored 38 points on the pitch, we have to work on that ranking there, then there's a strong club that works to defend itself, but we have to defend ourselves on the pitch, or rather attack because we need to score points”.
Juventus – Monza, the formations: Allegri finds Vlahovic and Pogba, but loses Chiesa
A charged and motivated Juventus will be needed and the spark could be given by Vlahovic and Pogba, finally available even if only for the bench. However, Allegri loses Chiesa due to a knee problem, and he will also have to do without McKennie, now close to being sold to Leeds. His 3-5-2 Thus he will see Szczesny in goal, Gatti, Bremer and Danilo in defence, De Sciglio, Fagioli, Paredes, Rabiot and Kostic in midfield, Di Maria and Kean in attack. All available instead for Palladino, who will try to repeat the feat of the first leg with a 3-4-2-1 with Di Gregorio in goal, Marlon, Pablo Marì and Izzo in the back, Birindelli, Pessina, Machin and Carlos Augusto in the midfield, Ciurria and Caprari behind the lone striker Petagna.
