There are not any mammoth clash this week, but a pair of match-up could turn to be very succulent.
Sampdoria-Inter: if it was not for the tumble they took in Udine in their season opener, the Blucerchiati would be regarded as one of the most impressive squads in Serie A, considering they how they dusted Napoli and Frosinone and came back against Fiorentina. Their attack is humming: Gregoire Defrel, Fabio Quagliarella, Gianluca Caprari and Dawid Kownacki have all already found the target at least once and the former Roma and Sassuolo striker is raining fire. The Beneamata continues to be wildly varying: they laid an egg against Parma then defeated Tottenham in Champions League with a great effort in the final minutes. Mauro Icardi scored a jaw-dropping goal on Tuesday and that could be a good sign for things to come in Serie A as well. Ivan Perisic and Radja Nainggolan looked a little tired midweek, but nobody else in stepping up significantly and Matteo Politano, who has received the most playing time among the newcomers, has been hit and miss. Antonio Candreva has been pretty spry so far.
Torino-Napoli: the Granata have been a little uninspiring so far and after all that boils down to Walter Mazzarri’s playing style, since his teams are usually decently effective but never spectacular. They lost Iago Falque to a minor muscular injury that could keep him until the next break and it is would be a massive loss. Simone Zaza will fill in, but he needs to build some chemistry with Andrea Belotti and the pair has not worked out that well in the limited minutes so far. On the other hand, the midfield is working and Soualiho Meite and Roberto Soriano have looked the part and the wing backs Lorenzo De Silvestri, Alex Berenguer and Ola Aina have big offensive responsibilities. The Partenopei might live to regret the nil-nil tie in Belgrade, while in Serie A they bested Fiorentina with a very patient performance. Lorenzo Insigne played more centrally and immediately delivered, while Arek Milik so far has been more productive than Dries Mertens. Piotr Zielinski has to adjust to a new position, tilted to the left wing, but his game-wrecking ability remains unquestionable. Napoli have a had a lot of success in Piedmont recently.
Bologna-Roma: the offensive slump of the Felsinei has been well-documented at this point, Filippo Inzaghi tried to shake things up with the speedster Orji Okwonkwo last week, but to no avail. They missed Rodrigo Palacio more than they should have had and their other three strikers, Diego Falcinelli, Mattia Destro and Federico Santander have all been firing blanks. Blerim Dzemaili has had the most chances in the squad, but he has been imprecise. La Lupa had another disappointing result in the weekend as they wasted away a two-nothing lead at home against the lowly Chievo. On the fantasy standpoint, the streamlined tactic paid dividends for Bryan Cristante, but also Lorenzo Pellegrini was dangerous, Stephan El Shaarawy and also Edin Dzeko, even though he did not score. It may be time to unleash Justin Kluivert, who was dynamic off the bat but then disappeared from the lineups. There could be some rotation, anyway their wingers and their box-to-box midfielders could be interesting picks this week, since Bologna basically got frustrated for not scoring and ended up opening some room in the back in every game. The Giallorossi’s back-line has been too vulnerable so far, but this is a good match-up on that front.
Milan-Atalanta: the Rossoneri started off very slowly in the Cagliari tilt, but somehow managed to keep the game within reach and tied with Gonzalo Higuain netting his first goal in red-and-black. However, it does not look like El Pipita is fully integrated in their system, or simply they have few other players who like to finalize. Giacomo Bonaventura missed a pair of very good chances in Sardinia and in their magic trio, which consists of Hakan Calhanoglu and Suso, he has been the most energetic so far. The Orobici have been surprisingly poor in the last two bouts against Cagliari and SPAL, where they have been held scoreless. It seems like the constant rotation has done no good to anybody between Duvan Zapata, Musa Barrow, Emiliano Rigoni and Mario Pasalic since no one has gained any steam. Alejandro Gomez remains their linchpin up front but he is banged up. Josip Ilicic was able to return after a strange disease, but he needs some time to be at his best.
Frosinone-Juventus: the Ciociari were steamrolled by Sampdoria last week and they could be in for some more troubles as the Italian Champions are paying them a visit. Nothing is really working for Moreno Longo: the defence has been shoddy and the attack has been lifeless. They might get a boost with Daniel Ciofani returning and Joel Campbell rounding into form, but they need help as soon as possible. Camillo Ciano and his free kicks have pretty much their only source of offence. On the other hand, the Old Lady is rolling with five wins in five matches, despite few workmanlike performances. Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first and will likely rack up goals from here on out. Massimiliano Allegri will rotate like crazy in a busy stretch of the schedule, but Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado could be in a good spot here. They kept just one clean sheet so far, but this is obviously an excellent spot for their defence.
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