Serie A, Round 15: Fiorentina fall to Roma, who are now unbeaten in 15

Parma still managed to threaten on the counter attack, and another good chance came when Mattia Cassani was able to cross low for the incoming Acquah, on as an early substitute for the injured Gargano. The Ghana international only had to tap in from close range but Handanović managed to just recover and force the ball round the post.

After the break, the match continued at the same pace it had been played at throughout and within 10 minutes of the resumption of play, Inter were ahead again when Rodrigo Palacio rose above the Parma defence to turn a difficult header past Mirante.

Serious questions will now be asked about Vladimir Petkovic after his side’s winless domestic run stretched to six games. Toro’s fourth victory of the season sees them leapfrog Lazio in the league standings.

Lazio wasted a chance to equalise almost instantly. Senad Lulic ghosted into the box past D’Ambrosio to send a header over. D’Ambrosio was much more dangerous going forwards and nearly crafted a second goal. His ball found Cerci in the box, but the frontman prodded a shot on his weaker right foot and Marchetti easily beat it away.

That’s fifteen in a row for Roma, whose win over Fiorentina puts them back to within three points of table-topping Juventus. The viola, meanwhile, miss out on the opportunity to leapfrog Inter Milan and grab hold of fourth place.

The viola had a chance to get back into it when Roma went down to ten men in the 88th. Pjanić, booked for a challenge in the first half, got a second yellow for fouling David Pizarro. Fiorentina were once again on the offensive, but Castán managed a perfect tackle to keep Rossi from getting that last minute equalizer.

The hosts have outscored their visitors by four goals so far this season. 14 of Toro’s 23 strikes have come at home, while Lazio have found the net just seven times on the road. Defensively, both sides have been far from solid so a stalemate looks unlikely.

Lazio haven’t won this fixture for five years, with Torino winning last season’s snowy meeting 1-0.

After the restart, the partenopei put pressure on Udinese, looking for the third goal. However, the defense continued to fall apart under the zebrette counterattacks. Things got worse for the hosts when

Napoli: Rafael; Maggio, Fernandez, Albiol, Reveillere (Armero 82’); Dzemaili (Behrami 78’), Inler; Insigne, Pandev ( Mertens 74’), Callejon; Higuain

Inter injuries and suspensions

Parma injuries and suspensions

On one hand, you wonder why Pioli should change things to face Serie A’s top side. On the other, if it isn’t working, and Bologna are most likely going to lose to Juventus anyway, why not shake things up a bit?

Juventus using their reserves will likely do little to change the outcome of the match, however. It’s not that the bianconeri bench is that stupendous -- although it’s certainly solid -- it’s just that Bologna are really that poor. Their defense has improved since conceding 12 goals in three games, but the rossoblu still have a tendency to go to pieces at the back.

There’s not much of interest in Sunday’s usual big block of matches, but that’s because the Serie A scheduling gods have decided to space out the games, giving us plenty to look forward to throughout the weekend. Although it’s worth remembering that, in Italy, those matches you think you’d never want to watch sometimes end up being the most entertaining.

Will it be Fiorentina that finally stops Roma’s unbeaten run? There’s no denying that Roma, perfect through their first ten and scoring seemingly at will, are now slowly grinding to a halt. It’s been four draws in a row for the giallorossi, with no more than a goal apiece in each match. In two of those four games, Roma’s once flawless defense has allowed late-game equalizers. As for the viola, they’ve won three of their last four and will likely field about 12 attackers. But it’s probably too much to ask for another 4-3 thriller like was saw Monday night against Verona.