The difference between Milan and Napoli: one goal, scored in the 2-1 win the Rossoneri got in Naples earlier this year. Then, Robinho scored early, Michele Pazienza saw red before Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi swapped goals. Now, those three points are all that separate the two clubs at the top of Italy's Serie A. If you want to parse the result even further (and disregard the laws of causality along the way), only a 11-on-10, 72nd minute score from The Zlatan keeps Milan in front.
Italian Serie A “Weekend” Preview, Fixtures: Milan-Napoli, Too Tempting To Resist
On Monday, the teams meet at the San Siro. (Usually we don't include the Monday matches in our weekend previews, but I can't resist.) A win from the partenopei moves them even on points with Milan, but it also opens the door for Inter Milan. The holders are at a sinking Sampdoria, Domenico di Carlo's team predictably struggling after the departures of Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano. Should Napoli and Inter both win, three teams will be within two points atop the league.
A draw at the San Siro, and Inter can move within three. However, if Milan is able to replicate the result they got at the San Paolo, they’ll assume a stranglehold on the scudetto race.
Since the sides met in late October, Milan has made some changes. Most notably, they’ve added Cassano and Mark van Bommel, though they’re pretty much the same team. They’ve sat atop the league for most of the season, have the stingiest defense in the league, and player a 4-3-3 built around the league’s best player. Everything depends on Ibra. Half playmaker, half sniper, the tunnel-visioned maestro leads an attack that’s already seen three players (Ibra, Robinho, Alexandre Pato) reach double digit league goals.
But if there’s one other man in the league who has a claim to being this season’s best player, it’s Zlatan’s Napoli complement: Edinson Cavani. The 24-year-old Uruguayan has a league-leading 20 goals and, like his teammates, has only see his confidence grow as the season’s progressed. While in personnel and tactics Napoli is pretty much the same team that lost to Milan earlier this year, in experience and belief, the Azzurri have progressed. A strong start that saw them and Lazio as surprise contenders has faded into the widely held suspicion that Napoli is in this race for good.
And while players like Cavani and Marek Hamsik possess the individual talents to reverse October's result, Napoli's most important players against Milan may be Christian Maggio and Andrea Dossena. The wide players in Mazzarri's 3-4-2-1 will get a free run at Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonini, possibly forcing Massimiliano Allergi's aging and slow three man midfield to play wider, more stretched-out, than they want.
If they can stress the van Bommels and Gattusos of Milan, Napoli has a chance to snap a Rossoneri unbeaten streak (in league) that extends back to late December. And should they do so, Napoli will set-up one of the best title races of recent memory, certainly the most entertaining in Europe’s major leagues, this season.
The Actual Weekend Action
Sampdoria versus Inter Milan, Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET - Inter ‘s dropped four points in 2011. Sampdoria’s dropped four places in the standings, falling from the edge of Europe to the table’s bottom half. With the two clubs Inter’s chasing playing each other (for the last time this season), this is too much of an opportunity for the Nerazzurri to leave with less than three points.
Juventus versus Bologna, Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET - Juventus’s two match winning streak went up in smoke last week at Lecce, with Gianluigi Buffon’s early red dooming the Old Lady. As a result, Juve will be without their iconic goalkeeper, though it may not matter. Bologna’s averaging just over a goal per match this year. If Juve’s defending is anything close to what they showed two weeks ago against Inter, the Bianconeri will be fine.
Cagliari versus Lazio, Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET - Just as Inter may benefit from the top two facing off, so may Lazio. While they have faded some since their torrid start to the season, Lazio remain fourth, only two points behind the defending champions. The Eagles have won their last two meetings with Calgiari - a 2-1 home victory earlier this season, and a 2-0 win last season at the Sant’Elia - hinting Lazio may also be set to take advantage of a fortunate Monday outcome.
Roma versus Parma, Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET - Vincenzo Montella’s coaching career got off to a rousing start mid-week, provided a 1-0 win at Bologna fits your definition of rousing. Given Roma’s results over the preceding three matches? Giallorossi supporters will take it. Roma’s back in sixth and hosting a Parma side that’s 2-2-6 (that’s a record, not a formation) since the calendar turned. Dire straits aren’t always long.
Palermo versus Udinese, Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET - Udinese hasn't lost in league since visiting Lazio in mid-December, which may not be as impressive as the 296 minute scoreless streak they take to the Renzo Barbera. Until the last three matches, a thriving Udinese could still be scored upon. They'd given up 30 goals in 23 matches and were only able to keep one clean sheet in January. That Udinese team could have been exploited by the likes of Javier Pastore, Fabrizio Miccoli, and Josip Ilicic. Now, this zebrette may be able to hold Palermo to two, one, dare we dream zero goals?
Other matches: Catania vs. Genoa (Sunday, 6:30 a.m. ET), Bari vs. Fiorentina (Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET), Brescia vs. Lecce (Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET), Cesena vs. Chievo (Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET)
See More:
