Serie A Preview

Serie A: Inter Milan chasing Roma while Juventus already playing catch up

The first few weeks of the Serie A campaign has brought thrills and spills. While Inter Milan are playing early catch up to pacesetters Roma, Juventus’ demise has been alarming. In this preview, we will cast an eye over two fixtures — Inter Milan v Bologna, and Juventus v AC Milan. We will also take a cursory glance at the latest match odds.

Inter Milan drop first points of the season against Sampdoria

Inter Milan looked formidable in their opening two games of the campaign against Genoa and Verona. However, it was a different story against Sampdoria, as they failed to make their early advantage count. Sloppy mistakes enabled Maya Yoshida and Tomasso Augello to cash in with two superb strikes.

However, it was a memorable day for Federico Dimarco, who made the net bulge with a ferocious free-kick to give the visitors the lead. With Napoli, AC Milan and Roma all winning last weekend, the Serie A title race could well go right down to the wire this season.

Inter Milan make Stefano Sensi and Alessandro Bastoni injury announcements

A big week lies ahead for Inter Milan, especially with the return of Champions League football. However, it is mixed news on the injury front. Midfielder Sefano Sensi sprained a ligament in his right knee against Sampdoria, so he could be a huge doubt to face Bologna. But Alessandro Bastoni could be in contention to start after his results came back clear.

Bologna desperate to banish San Siro memories

Bologna’s season won’t depend on results against the big boys like Inter Milan. However, they may well be daunted by a visit to one of Europe’s biggest footballing cathedrals. On their last trip, they crashed to a 3-1 defeat, and they will need to show more defensive nous this time around.

Bologna could leapfrog Lazio with win over Verona

Bologna currently have a game in hand over their rivals. At the time of writing, they are eighth in Serie A, but a win over Verona on Monday evening could see them jump two spots into sixth. Bologna could end up being one of the surprise packages this season, so Inter will write them off at their peril.

Juventus looking like a pale shadow of former selves

What has gone wrong at Juventus this season? We may only be three games into the Serie A campaign, but the early signs are more than mildly disconcerting. Although Juventus made much of the early running against Napoli last weekend, taking the lead through Alvaro Morata, they failed to cling on to an advantage.

Wojciech Szczesny blotted his copybook as he parried the ball into Matteo Politano’s path for Napoli’s equaliser. The Polish shot-stopper was then flat-footed from a corner as Kalidou Koulibaly steered home from a yard out for the winner. Football is always decided on fine margins, but at the moment, Juve are struggling to make the key moments count.

Juve need to get on the winning trail soon, otherwise the pressure could become too much for Massimiliano Allegri to handle. However, Allegri refused to call out his players for the defeat against Napoli, instead preferring to focus on his side overlooking key details.

AC Milan will relish trip to face struggling Juventus

Judging by their early performances, AC Milan are definitely a team on a mission. The 4-1 victory at home to Cagliari last month was swashbuckling in nature, but their 2-0 win over Lazio last weekend displayed signs of maturity. For the Rossoneri, it was nice to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic back on the pitch after returning from injury.

The Swedish talisman registered a goal against Lazio just after the hour mark, and he has now scored in 24 different league campaigns. He is also the oldest foreign player, at the age of 39, to hit the target in Italy’s top-flight. He will be desperate to pile the misery on Juventus. If Juve aren’t careful, they could be soundly beaten.

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