Serie A boring? Absolutely not, and the Italian teams are back to prove this point with the first round of matches in 2011. Week 18 kicks off with Juventus hosting Parma, with The Old Lady anxious to find three points and prove that they really should be included in the race for the scudetto.
Italian Serie A Thursday: Juventus Host Parma Before Milan, Roma, And Lazio While Inter Milan And Napoli Wind Down The Day
League leaders AC Milan are up next, traveling to Cagliari, where they should feel confident about a win. Even without Zlatan Ibrahimovic or new signing Antonio Cassano, the Rossoneri will likely be able to extend their lead at the top of Serie A. Meanwhile Lazio, playing at the same time, will be crossing their fingers that Cagliari pull off a win, because then a win at Genoa would allow them to share the top spot with Milan. Crosstown rivals Roma are hoping neither Milan nor Lazio win, giving them a clearer path to a run to the top-if they beat visiting Catania, that is.
Rounding up the day will be Inter Milan hosting Napoli. New coach Leonardo will be anxious to lift his seventh-place side with a win over second-place Napoli, but he’ll have to keep an eye on “Napoli-time”: striker Edinson Cavani’s last-minute goals are becoming notorious.
SB Nation Soccer will be bringing updates and stories from these and other Serie A matches, starting at 6:30 AM ET on Thursday. Early birds can catch the action on ESPN 3, which will also show Cagliari vs AC Milan, Sampdoria vs Palermo, Lazio vs Genoa and Inter Milan vs Napoli.
See More:
