Sassuolo-Roma: the Neroverdi were handed their first loss since April last week by Torino, even though they certainly put up a fight, despite not being in need of points. The Giallorossi defeated Juventus with a late surge, garnering their fourth win in the last six rounds, tying in the other two and staying close to the fourth spot. Sassuolo have found the target in five of the last six rounds and La Lupa have not been great defensively on the road: they have spread the wealth around since Domenico Berardi was the only one to bag one in multiple matches. Jeremie Boga, Stefano Sensi, Manuel Locatelli and all the defenders contributed scoring-wise: Boga and Sensi have been their most lively contributors in the last few fixtures. The Giallorossi are getting a lot from Stephan El Shaarawy and Edin Dzeko, while the latest tactical change, if confirmed, would help the likes of Nicolò Zaniolo, Cengiz Under and Justin Kluivert, as the last two would see more minutes. Lorenzo Pellegrini is iffy due to a thigh ailment and his absence could allow Bryan Cristante to have a big role.
Milan-Frosinone: while not being overly convincing, the Rossoneri brought home the full spoils in the last two matches against Bologna and Fiorentina, while the Ciociari have lost four of the last five and already know they will play in Serie B. Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu have both been able to get off their schneid and certainly Gennaro Gattuso need his linchpins to deliver in the remaining two winnable matches. The Turk has looked better as box-to-box midfield and both Fabio Borini and Samu Castillejo have been serviceable completing the trident. Krzysztof Piatek has not scored in a long time for his standards, but this would represent an ideal match-up for him to bounce back considering the opponents’ leakiness. As for the opponents, most of their recent goals have come from midfielders: Luca Valzania, Francesco Cassata, Paolo Sammarco and Luca Paganini, with Federico Dionisi representing the only detour. Camillo Ciano and Andrea Pinamonti could exploit the potential room to counter.
Empoli-Torino: the Azzurri finally broke through on the road against Sampdoria, collecting two Ws in a row for the first time this season when they needed the most. Unfortunately for them, they have most difficult schedule among the relegation strugglers, as both of their final opponents are vying for something. The Granata have rattled off eight straight positive results and have prevailed in three of the last four tilts, versus Genoa, Milan and Sassuolo, but their numbers on the road are not superb. While Francesco Caputo and Rade Krunic, who have carried the Tuscan side all year long, have not been great recently, Diego Farias has found the target for two weeks in a row and also Hamed Traorè and Marko Pajac are performing very well as of late. It will be a nice battle on that flank since Lorenzo De Silvestri is coming off a two-assist showing. Andrea Belotti netted two last week: he is generally more productive at home, but the foes in this case have lousy defensively. Iago Falque did not look at full speed in his return from injury, while Simone Zaza rung the bell when they assembled a very offensive line-up. Alex Berenguer will have a diminished role with the other two attackers returning to prominence, but he has been brilliant in the last month.
Juventus-Atalanta: the Bianconeri have not taken home the three points in three straight games, where they no longer needed to. They have slipped defensively, having conceded for few rounds in a row, but their level of play has remained acceptable overall and only poor finishing has held them back. The Goddess control their own destiny thanks to the four wins in a row against Napoli, Udinese, Lazio and Genoa and they would sit pretty if they got a point out of this game. They have not lost since February. For the first time in a month, the Old Lady could trot out their best lineup featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi together: the Portuguese ace has been the only one scoring lately. Emre Can has also looked fine, but his appeal will depend on his position, as he could end up replacing Miralem Pjanic as pivot, which would drastically limit his forays. Duvan Zapata has been one of the best in Europe for goals in away fixtures. The Orobici will have their full arsenal at their disposal too, with Josip Ilicic and Alejandro Gomez up and running after injuries and suspensions. Timothy Castagne has hit the net for two matches in a row and he and Robin Gosens are always a threat from the flanks. The midweek Coppa Italia final could have some lingering physical effects even though their conditioning is usually impeccable.
Napoli-Inter: the Partenopei, despite being locked into the second place, have triumphed thrice in a row, but against soft adversaries like Frosinone, Cagliari and SPAL. The Nerazzurri held serve against Chievo, returning to winning ways after three ties and avoiding a dangerous slide. With Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne out of the lineup last week, Allan and Mario Rui stepped up and Amin Younes provided an assist. The German winger is the most likely to repeat if given a chance from the start. The two centre-pieces could be back since the injuries were minor and the Belgian has been on a binge for a while. Arkadiusz Milik has missed a lot of chances recently. As for the Beneamata, the alternance between Mauro Icardi and Lautaro Martinez has done no good to anybody and neither has potted one in two months. However, Ivan Perisic and Radja Nainggolan have pitched in significantly. Matteo Politano scored last week, but he hurt his ankle and his presence is in jeopardy. Piotr Zielinski and Matias Vecino usually show up in big matches.
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