It’s shaping up to be a monumental round in Serie A, as the top six all meet each other this weekend.
All three games are being played at different times, meaning you don’t have to miss a minute of the action, and Football Italia has put together a guide to what you should be looking out for in Week 8 of Serie A.
Derby showdown
The first Derby della Madonnina of the season takes place on Sunday night, and it looks set to be one of the biggest in years.
It’s shaping up to be a monumental round in Serie A, as the top six all meet each other this weekend.
All three games are being played at different times, meaning you don’t have to miss a minute of the action, and Football Italia has put together a guide to what you should be looking out for in Week 8 of Serie A.
Derby showdown
The first Derby della Madonnina of the season takes place on Sunday night, and it looks set to be one of the biggest in years.
Both sides are now owned by Chinese conglomerates, but unlike April’s game this hasn’t been moved for coverage in the Far East.
Inter have started the season impressively, at least in terms of results, and currently lie just a point off leaders Napoli, level with champions Juventus.
Their city rivals, meanwhile, have struggled after their big summer spending spree and languish seven points behind the Nerazzurri.
Milan need to avoid a third defeat in a row, while a failure to win would dent Inter’s title hopes.
The Derby della Madonnina is once again a landmark Serie A fixture.
Can Lazio break their hoodoo?
Lazio were impressive in beating Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana, and after a strong start to the Serie A season some are even touting them as potential Scudetto winners.
Simone Inzaghi’s side are vibrant, entertaining, and deadly on the counter-attack – but the Aquile just don’t win in Turin.
Lazio haven’t beaten Juve on their own patch since 2003, and in truth have barely come close in recent years.
Max Allegri has lamented the Bianconeri’s lapses of concentration this season, and the Biancocelesti are just the kind of side who can take advantage.
Crowning the ‘anti-Juve’
Given their recent dominance, the Italian media has been searching for the past six seasons for the side which will give Juventus a serious challenge for their title.
Roma and Napoli have been the two sides most likely to be dubbed the ‘anti-Juve’ in recent years, and they finished second and third respectively last season, behind the Old Lady.
Saturday night sees Maurizio Sarri take his side to Rome, with a perfect seven wins out of seven so far.
Both sides will know the Juventus result before they step onto the pitch, and so this could well given an indication of who will be the biggest challenger.
Tactical warfare in Genoa
Marco Giampaolo of Sampdoria and Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini are probably the most highly regarded Serie A Coaches outside of the top six, and they’ll face off on Sunday afternoon.
Both sides harbour European ambitions this season, with the Blucerchiati currently sitting two points above Gasperini’s men.
Giampaolo is seen by many as a potential top six Coach, while Gasp’s tactical battle with Jose Mourinho in 2008 was described by the Portuguese as the toughest he’s faced.
The fire sale derby
Fiorentina welcome Udinese to the Franchi this weekend, with both sides having been completely revolutionised since last season.
The Viola have seen Nikola Kalinic, Federico Bernardeschi, Borja Valero and Gonzalo Rodriguez – to name but a few – depart, as well as Coach Paulo Sousa.
Luigi Del Neri remains on the Udinese bench, but Bruno Fernandes, Panagiotis Kone, Molla Wague and Orestis Karnezis all headed for the exit this summer, as did Cyril Théréau, who moved to Florence.
As a result these will be two unfamiliar sides, perhaps even to each other.