Juventus v Atalanta
Juventus may be through to the Champions League knockout stages but a 4-0 defeat to Chelsea midweek underlined their struggles this season and domestically, they’re 11 points off the pace down in eighth place. Atalanta are in a more precarious position in Europe and will need to beat Villarreal on the final day, but are in fourth place in Serie A, though they themselves are still seven points adrift of leaders Milan and Napoli.
The visitors have fared badly when travelling to Juventus over the years, but they’ve lost just one of their past 22 road trips in Serie A going back to the end of October 2020, including victories in eight of the past nine. Their injury problems have largely cleared up, with wing-backs Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer the notable absentees, and should offer a stern challenge this time around.
Goals would certainly appear to be on the agenda with Atalanta involved in plenty of high-scoring affairs, which has been a consistent theme over the past few years under Gian Piero Gasperini. Across all competitions, eight of Atalanta’s past 10 matches have seen at least four goals, while each of the past six have seen a minimum of three strikes. In clashes with the current top eight domestically, as well as Man Utd and Villarreal in Europe, six of their seven matches this season have seen at least four goals as they all featured a minimum of three.
PREDICTION:
OVER 2.5 GOALS
AC Milan v Sassuolo
Milan handed themselves a lifeline in Europe with a late winner away to Atletico Madrid, and they’ll hope to get back to winning ways domestically following their first defeat of the season at Fiorentina last week. They had previously won 14 of 17 unbeaten league games since the start of May, with two of the exceptions coming against Juventus and Inter, so they’ll expect an immediate response.
Sassuolo are only W3-D2-L6 since the start of September, though each of their defeats came by one-goal margins. They should remain competitive here, with none of their past five meetings with Milan settled by more than a single strike either way. However, they’re W1-D2-L7 against the Rossoneri since 2016/17, with five of those defeats coming by a one-goal margin.
PREDICTION:
AC MILAN TO WIN BY 1 GOAL
Napoli v Lazio
Napoli remain level with Milan at the top of the standings, though they need to pick themselves back up after their last few results, as they were held to a draw hosting Verona before defeats to Inter Milan and then Spartak Moscow in Europe. Winger Matteo Politano missed those recent losses with covid and remains a doubt for this fixture, but the injuries are mounting up and especially in attack.
Lorenzo Insigne missed the midweek encounter with Spartak Moscow with a knee complaint and will need to be assessed ahead of this fixture, while there’s an even bigger blow with Victor Osimhen ruled out for a few months following a nasty clash of heads with Inter’s Milan Skriniar last weekend. The Nigerian striker has been a revelation for Napoli this season with nine goals in all competitions, building upon an impressive campaign last term, while further back defensive midfielder Andre Zambo Anguissa is also set for a spell on the sidelines.
There’s better news for Lazio, who saw Ciro Immobile make a goalscoring return from a calf issue with a brace against Lokomotiv Moscow on Thursday. He’s already racked up double figures in the league this season, only failing to score in appearances against Milan, Roma and Fiorentina, and having scored in each of the past six league meetings with Napoli, will certainly improve the visitor’s chances here. Lazio have lost just three times across their past 14 outings in all competitions, and will hope to pick up at least a point here.
PREDICTION:
LAZIO DOUBLE CHANCE
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