A Saturday for strong hearts. The 11th day starts today and does so immediately with a bang: Roma-Napoli (15pm), Bologna-Inter (18) and Turin-Juventus (20.45) promise to give series entertainment and emotions, as well as important implications for the standings . In fact, the race for first place is up for grabs, with the Bianconeri and the Nerazzurri glowering at each other from a distance, but also the Champions League match, with the match appearing to be the direct confrontation par excellence. In short, the feeling is that the turn we are about to experience is anything but interlocutory and this obviously raises the tension.
The match at the Olimpico, the first of the day, it is very delicate especially for Napoli, still raging after Wednesday's umpiring controversy. The Azzurri, overtaken by Roma and hooked up by Lazio and Cagliari, have gone from proclaiming themselves anti-Juve to even risking the Champions League zone, which is why today they have to win or at least not lose, otherwise the ranking could become really bad. “Napoli deserves respect – thundered sporting director Giuntoli in reference to the refereeing controversies. – We don't agree, we no longer want to see every game distorted, we don't care if it's for or against. We want clarity, full stop, as well as immediately reverse the trend of the results: we are collecting less than what we deserved, like against Cagliari and Atalanta".
On the Rome front, on the other hand, there is a lot of enthusiasm, the result of increasingly convincing results and a coach capable of compacting the environment like Fonseca: he is the architect of the yellow and red fourth place, obtained despite the numerous injuries that have occurred to his squad. “The important thing is to see a positive attitude from the team, in this way it's easier to win games – he thought at the press conference. – The mentality is what matters most, we must be ambitious even against Napoli. And at the end of the game, I really hope we don't have to talk about the referee…”. We all hope so, there is no doubt about this, also because there are players on the pitch who are able to have fun and make a difference.
Fonseca will field the usual 4-2-3-1 with Pau Lopez in goal, Spinazzola, Smalling, Cetin and Kolarov in defense, Mancini and Veretout in midfield, Zaniolo, Pastore and Kluivert in the trocar, Dzeko in attack. Ancelotti will respond with a 4-4-2 that will see Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly and Mario Rui in the back, Callejon, Zielinski, Fabian Ruiz and Insigne in the midfield in support of the offensive duo made up of Milik and Mertens. Once the Champions League clash has been filed, it will be time to deal with the Scudetto fight, with Inter and Juve back in the ring a few hours apart. The Nerazzurri will be the first to take the field in Bologna, against an always insidious team like Mihajlovic's.
A big headache for Conte, who already after Parma and Brescia had raised a loud and clear alarm about his team's tiredness. “Bologna are an excellent team, they make intensity their best weapon, he is in good shape despite the stop in Cagliari – explained the Nerazzurri coach -. We will have to compete and fight back blow by blow. It will be an intense match and everyone will have to give 100%.” True, just as Dortmund's commitment on Tuesday, decisive for qualification, risks distracting more than necessary, which is why Conte, net of injuries, has decided to rely on turnover more than usual. His 3-5-2 will see Handanovic in goal, Godin, De Vrij and Skriniar in defense, Lazaro, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini and Biraghi in midfield, Lautaro Martinez and Lukaku in attack.
Mihajlovic will respond with a 4-2-3-1 with Skorupski between the posts, Mbaye, Danilo, Denswil and Krejci in the back, Poli and Medel in the midfield, Orsolini, Soriano and Sansone behind the lone striker Palacio. Immediately after the Dall'Ara match, the spotlights will move to Turin and the Mole derby number 199, the 177th in the league. The two teams arrive at diametrically opposite moments, with Juve returning from the success over Genoa and the Bull from the beating of Rome, which rocked Mazzarri's bench. With these premises it would be inevitable to indicate the black and whites as super favourites, were it not for the fact that they are returning from four less than brilliant matches against Bologna, Lokomotiv, Lecce and Genoa, where they showed clear steps backwards compared to the pre-break.
However, the fact remains that the grenades are in enormous difficulty, so much so that Cairo's words ("Mazzarri is the only one not in discussion") they risk turning out to be a sensational bluff in case of defeat. The rumors give Gattuso ever closer but this does not mean that Walter has no more cards to play: the derby could also be a springboard to get back on top. In short, in Turin it will be a night of great tension, between two teams which, albeit for profoundly different reasons, really cannot afford to fail. “The derby is never a completely normal match, even if it is worth more for Turin than for Juventus – Sarri's analysis. – It has a meaning for the points up for grabs, but also for something else. I hope this match helps us not to have mental declines. I expect a battle Bull, but we will have to be good at shifting the challenge on our tracks ".
The idea is to make use of the enormous technical rate available, otherwise, just like with Lecce and Genoa, the bianconeri could face various problems. Sarri will continue with the 4-3-1-2 of the last few matches, therefore Szczesny in goal, Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt and Alex Sandro in defense, Khedira, Bentancur and Matuidi in midfield, Bernardeschi behind Dybala and Ronaldo. Mazzarri, for the match that could be worth his fate, will respond with a 3-5-2 that will see Sirigu between the posts, Izzo, Lyanco and Djidji in the back, Ansaldi, Baselli, Lukic, Meité and Aina in the midfield, Verdi and Belotti in attack.
