It’s a massive weekend in Serie A, with a head-to-head clash between last season’s top two, a tough trip for Milan and the small matter of the Derby della Capitale.
We may not have reached October yet, but pressure is already mounting on several Coaches and this weekend could well be decisive for them.
Here’s what to look out for in Week 7 of Serie A.
The Derby della Capitale
The Rome derby is always unmissable, but the 171st official meeting has a huge amount riding on it, even at this early stage of the season.
It’s a massive weekend in Serie A, with a head-to-head clash between last season’s top two, a tough trip for Milan and the small matter of the Derby della Capitale.
We may not have reached October yet, but pressure is already mounting on several Coaches and this weekend could well be decisive for them.
Here’s what to look out for in Week 7 of Serie A.
The Derby della Capitale
The Rome derby is always unmissable, but the 171st official meeting has a huge amount riding on it, even at this early stage of the season.
Roma Coach Eusebio Di Francesco eased some of the pressure on him with a win over Frosinone in midweek, but defeat to Lazio would plunge him right back into hot water.
The Aquile, meanwhile, are looking to keep pace at the top with Juventus and Napoli meeting this weekend.
One or both of those sides will drop points, but a defeat for Simone Inzaghi’s men could well make Serie A a two-horse race once again.
Click here to read our Roma-Lazio preview
Carletto returns to Juventus
It’s too early in the season to call Juventus-Napoli a Scudetto showdown, and clearly this game doesn’t have the significance of their last meeting back in April.
That said, a win for the Old Lady would open her lead over the Partenopei to six points, as well as setting a new club record for best start to the season.
For Carlo Ancelotti’s men, there’s the carrot of going top of Serie A if they can win in Turin for the second meeting in a row.
A Juve win wouldn’t kill the Scudetto race, but it would send an ominous signal to the rest of the division.
A win for former Bianconeri boss Ancelotti though, and the cat is very much among the pigeons…
Click here to read our Juventus-Napoli preview
Battle of the underdogs
For the past two seasons, Atalanta have been upsetting the big boys by securing Europa League football.
This time around, Fiorentina are looking to emulate that, with a similarly young and promising squad.
The two meets on Sunday afternoon at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and it’ll be a great opportunity to assess where each team stands.
Roma and Milan have started the season slowly, and the winner of this one can dare to dream of finishing above one of those more illustrious sides.
Click here to read our Fiorentina-Atalanta preview
Can Frosinone score a goal?
Last season we had Benevento and their lengthy losing run, this time around it’s Frosinone and their shot-shy strikers.
The Canarini haven’t scored a single goal this season, and fail to score against Genoa they’ll set a new record for a goalless start to the season. Against Roma they equalled Catania’s unwanted record of failing to score in the first six games, which was set in 1970-71.
It’s been a hard start to the season for Moreno Longo’s men, but already it looks like an uphill battle to avoid relegation.
If their strikers want some guidance on finding the back of the net, they could do a lot worse than looking at Krzysztof Piątek, who currently leads the Serie A scoring charts after six goals in five games.
Click here to read our Frosinone-Genoa preview
Make or break for Gattuso
There’s no use denying it anymore: the pressure is mounting on Gennaro Gattuso at Milan.
Ringhio won’t be sacked if they fail to beat Sassuolo on Sunday night, but after one win in five games some Rossoneri fans are already starting to question the former midfielder.
Gattuso really couldn’t ask for a worse fixture either: the Neroverdi are one of Serie A’s smaller teams, but Roberto De Zerbi has them playing great football and they sit third in the league.
Milan may not have the squad to win the title, but they should be more than capable of beating Empoli and Cagliari.
Should they fail to beat Sassuolo, fingers of blame may well be pointed at the Coach.
Click here to read our Sassuolo-Milan preview