As Serie A hurtles toward the end of the season, Football Italia picks out five things to watch in Week 32.
Words: Ramez Nathan
Inter have a golden opportunity to jump back intoto the top four, Milan can still see the light and Fiorentina are already in the history books.
An unfortunate Sampdoria will get the worst phase of a brutal Juvenuts and the city of Naples are praying that the slap in the face the Old Lady received will leave her drained.
As Serie A hurtles toward the end of the season, Football Italia picks out five things to watch in Week 32.
Words: Ramez Nathan
Inter have a golden opportunity to jump back intoto the top four, Milan can still see the light and Fiorentina are already in the history books.
An unfortunate Sampdoria will get the worst phase of a brutal Juvenuts and the city of Naples are praying that the slap in the face the Old Lady received will leave her drained.
From the most desperate clash to the most important derby of the season here are the ones to watch in week 32.
Last man standing between Cagliari and Udinese
Two exhausted and weary sides go head to head in an attempt to escape from the relegation battle.
With Chievo finally regaining some confidence, Crotone and Hellas Verona winning two of their last five games, Sassuolo unbeaten in their last five fixtures and
SPAL unbowed in six, pressure is growing on Cagliari and, unexpectedly, Udinese.
When Massimo Oddo took charge of the Zebrette they showed some promising displays, yet what followed were eight successive defeats, while their opponents this Saturday have managed only two victories in 2018.
Knowing how the rest of the teams are fighting for their chances to stay in Serie A, these two sides need a moral victory more than anything to keep their heads above water.
A Nerazzurro Saturday night
Since last year Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta have been the revolution Serie A needed, and even though a number of key figures left the club, they managed to strike fear into every opposition in the Europa League, representing Italian football with pride.
La Dea are hoping they have what it takes to be in Europe again next season, however another Nerazzurri stands in their way this week, and it’s a crucial match for Inter.
A win will guarantee them a place in the top four, given that Roma, Lazio or both teams will drop points in the Derby della Capitale.
Last chance for Milan and Napoli
As Milan failed to grab a win in their last three fixtures, they are starting to lose sight of the Champions League spots, while the Partenpoei's displays have been shaky even in their recent wins.
Gennaro Gattuso is hoping he will grab his first win ever over Napoli, against a coach that never lost to the Rossoneri in Serie A.
A triumph is crucial for the dreams of each club and a failure to grab the three points means they may well have to settle for what they had last season.
A fearsome Old Lady?
Following their cruel dismissal from a competition which appears cursed for them, the Champions League, Juventus will be focused on winning the Scudetto for a seventh season in a row.
With Gianluigi Buffon probably hanging his boots by the end of the season, the full Bianconeri squad will be dogged to give him the farewell he deserves for the years he sacrificed for this club.
Sampodria were the last team to defeat Juventus in Serie A though, so it won’t be an easy match for a Juve side which is sure to be hurting.
Derby della Capitale
If anyone said Roma will represent Italy in the semi-finals of the Champions League at the start of the season, that person would surely have been labeled insane.
Roma without Mohamed Salah, Antonio Rudiger and Luciano Spalletti are clearly not reaching the same heights in Serie A, but Eusebio Di Francesco's version seems more European.
Lazio fared less well in Europe, collapsing against Salzburg, but Ciro Immobile’s 27 Serie A goals is already a club record.
Can Immobile take Lazio one step closer to the Champions League dream, or will Di Francesco outrun the Biancocelesti?