Soccer

Serie A schedule and results: Napoli edge Lazio, move into third

A Gonzalo Higuain goal made the difference, taking Napoli over Lazio and into third in Serie A.

Updated Jan 18, 2015, 3:55 PM UTC

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Week 19 of Serie A, aka the last week before everyone turns around and meets each other for the second time, brings yet another huge game. Lazio and Napoli continue their battle for third place, this time in a direct duel in Rome. Other interested parties will try to take advantage of their clash and perhaps get closer to the Champions League spot, but Inter, Fiorentina and Sampdoria all face not so simple tasks away from home, and Milan is... Milan. Juventus await Hellas Verona after destroying the same team last night in Coppa Italia play 6-1. It's hard imagining the league leaders spilling points there, which leaves Roma with no choice but to win at the Renzo Barbera in Palermo.

Empoli vs Inter Milan

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While not traditionally considered a big game -- far from it -- this match may well be one of the gems of this round. The azzurri play an entertaining brand of football and don’t t shy away from attacking even the biggest teams, and there’s no doubt it will be the same against Inter. Don’t let their position way down in 15th fool you, as they are perhaps the best of all the small teams in Serie A. They are also experts at drawing, with nine draws so far, including five in a row until last week’s defeat to Sampdoria.

Inter are still searching for their identity since Roberto Mancini took over, but their last two games certainly offer some reason for optimism for their fans. They had one brilliant half in each of those games, against Juventus and Genoa, when they created a huge number of opportunities. But it was a bit of a Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde type of performance, where the other halves were far less impressive, which probably makes it all the more interesting for neutrals. Plus, Xherdan Shaqiri might make his first Serie A start. What's there not to like about this game?

Palermo vs AS Roma

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After nine games without a loss, Palermo finally suffered defeat last week, in a 4-3 thriller at Fiorentina. Three goals, and that was without young star Paulo Dybala, who will be a game day decision on Saturday. He and Franco Vazquez are perhaps the most entertaining attacking duo in Serie A... wait, they actually ARE the best attacking duo of Serie A, responsible for 25 goals between them. And some of those goals were nothing short of spectacular.

Roma, on the other hand, have hit a bit of rough form recently, struggling to create and score goals. But still, they’re winning. Or at least not losing. Which is something, except it means Juventus have once again opened up a three-point lead in first place. The giallorossi comeback in the Derby della Capitale could mean Roma are once again gearing up for a scudetto challenge -- or it could have just been yet another example of Francesco Totti being at his best against Lazio. This match will do more to show what Roma are really made of.

Lazio vs Napoli

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Lazio are probably the most in-form team in Serie A, having gone six games without a defeat. Much of that success is due to Felipe Anderson, but the biancocelesti will have to make do without their fantastista, who suffered a knee injury in training. As if that wasn't bad enough, Stefano Mauri is also in doubt, as well as Stefan De Vrij. The Lazio squad is starting to look a little thin, and it just might be the worst possible time for these injuries to crop up, considering how dirty the fight for third will be this season.

And they’re going up against a side that pretty much lost all hope for a late scudetto challenge when losing to Juventus last week. Napoli know third is the bare minimum they must achieve, but whether they can match results to performance is another story. The partenopei are the reverse Roma - their performances are usually satisfying, yet they somehow manage not to win. Still, they’ve done well to both entertain and get results against Lazio in recent years, so hopefully this will be another thrilling match.