Serie A, round 24: Napoli look to close gap on Roma

Welcome back to Serie A, where nothing changes and yet everything gets turned upside down. The table doesn’t seem to be moving, despite Juventus only managing a point against tiny Cesena last weekend. That’s because Roma couldn’t score against Parma, of all clubs. Yet they’re not too worried about second because Napoli finally fell, at Palermo. Napoli could be worried about Fiorentina, but they always stumble, while Lazio ride a roller coaster of ups and downs.

On a serious note, though, there’s one less game to be played in Serie A this week. Parma can’t find the money to pay their players, their stewards, their electricity. That means they won’t be able to play host to Udinese on Sunday.

There’s nothing better than a derby. Except, perhaps, a derby in which both sides are desperate to prove a point not just within the city, but in the league at large. Welcome to Genoa, where both teams have taken years to recover from the beatings their pride has taken. Now both Sampdoria and Genoa sit even on points, possibly making them even more dissatisfied then they’ve been in recent years. Both looked poised to challenge for a European position once again, and while that’s still not out of the question, runs of bad form have left them on the outside looking in. Genoa have managed two in a row, including a resounding 5-2 victory over Verona last weekend. It’s Sampdoria who are in the more precarious position, unable to find a win in their last four. This derby is so tense that, despite Samp’s decent position in the league, Siniša Mihajlović may be scanning the want ads should the game not go their way.

It’s a tossup, really, as to who we’d rather watch melt down -- Milan or Roma. Milan tend to be more hilarious, possibly due to the fact that Roma players have yet to punch one another, but after just one win in eight we’re running thin on jokes. And so to Roma, who’re in something of a freefall. Sure, they’re unbeaten in six, but just one of those was a win. They couldn’t score against Parma, for goodness sakes. The giallorossi are masters of the comeback draw, but they’ve yet to remember how to actually win. But considering Verona are taking beat-downs from just about everyone they face (outscored 14-5 in their last five games, and one of those was a win!) you have to think it’s time for Roma’s luck to change. Then again, we thought that last week when Parma came to town.

Napoli were the most in-form team in Europe before last week rolled around. Then they went to Sicily and got squished 3-1 by Palermo -- when they could’ve been leaping up toward Roma in second place. And then they went to Turkey and thumped Trabzonspor 4-0. Really, there’s no telling what Napoli side will show up on Monday. Which is excellent news for Sassuolo. At the end of 2014, the neroverdi were the hottest thing around, but they’ve cooled off considerably. Still, Simone Zaza and Domenico Berardi remain dangerous, particularly against the notorious Napoli “defense”.

results updated as available