It has been six weeks since the last Serie A matches, so let’s have a reminder of where the races for the Scudetto, Champions League, Europa and relegation spots stand.
The fixtures kick off again on January 4 with a full slate of 10 games on that day and it’ll pick up with a big clash between leaders Napoli and title chasers Inter.
Luciano Spalletti’s men went into the break for the World Cup sitting a massive eight points clear at the top of the Serie A table, trailed by Milan on 33 points and Juventus on 31.
The Bianconeri had been seemingly stranded mid-table until a surge of six consecutive victories, including a 3-0 that allowed them to leapfrog Lazio, who fell to fourth alongside Inter on 30 points.
When it comes to Champions League spots, Atalanta and Roma are not far behind on 27 points in sixth and seventh, hoping to recapture some of the momentum them had lost going into the break.
Udinese and Torino had started strong and fell away, while Fiorentina and Bologna are moving in the opposite direction after rough opening weeks.
When it comes to the relegation places, we saw last year thanks to Salernitana that a miraculous comeback is always possible.
Having said that, it really will take something special to revive Verona, rock bottom on five points from 15 games and already on their third coach of the season.
Sampdoria are one point above them and hoping Dejan Stankovic can turn things around after replacing Marco Giampaolo, while Cremonese have stuck with Massimiliano Alvini despite not winning a single game.
It’s already a big six-point gap between that bottom three and the rest, as Monza, Lecce and Salernitana started to turn the early tide.