Serie A Preview: Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Another full Serie A schedule this weekend with every team in action again on Sunday. The dust has barely settled from the last round and each team’s bench should get a decent test.

I enjoyed all the comments on the last preview because it meant someone else was watching Serie A. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t anything else to watch? Or maybe Serie A is better enjoyed in huge portions, like Italian food. Sadly I missed out the copious amounts of calcio action on Thursday due to work, so I’m fully prepared to immerse myself in Italian football on Sunday. After church of course…

Serie A: Come for the fans, stay for the football.

Some interesting results have shaken up the table a bit and there are several intriguing matches on the docket. It’s the last game of the andata, the first half of the season, and a chance to see what the possibly vital last round of the season will hold. To the matches!

Sampdoria v. AS Roma – Sampdoria were handed a proper beating by Palermo in Sicily on Thursday, being shut out 3-0. It may not have been so lopsided if they had finished some of their chances. The knock on them will be scoring until they prove they can still compete consistently without Cassano.

Roma had better fortune with a 4-2 win over Catania. The good news was braces from Borriello and Vucinic. The bad news is that they’re still shaky in the back.

Samp will get chances in this game and if Roma don’t come out fighting the home team could quickly erase memories of their thrashing by taking a big scalp. Roma pulled itself up into fourth, but I predict the Blucerchiati to pull them back down. 3-2 to the hosts.

AC Milan v. Udinese – Udinese’s last 8 matches: LWLWLWLW. The last W was a win over Chievo on Thursday. Di Natale netted again and could have made it 2 but for a penalty miss. He’s the one Milan need to key in on to shut down what is clearly a very inconsistent Udinese side. If the pattern holds, they’re due for a loss anyway.

Milan pulled out a nail-biter with a late goal to sink Cagliari by SidneyRodney Strasser. Cassano was instrumental in setting up the goal and Milan pulled further ahead of closest chasers Lazio and Napoli, who both dropped points. Ibrahimovic will be back from suspension and Milan will need to rely on their attack and beat Udinese down early.

I’m not entirely comfortable relying on a Nesta-less back line with Bonera flanked by Abate and Antonini. Still, I expect big Zlatan and the two Brazilians to do just fine. 3-1 Milan, with a late consolation goal from Di Natale.

Bari v. Bologna – Bari got a huge win, 0-1 over their rivals Lecce on Thursday. Stefano Okaka, on loan from Roma, was the one who settled a very fiery (but non-violent!) derby. It was their first away win of the season.

Can they do two in a row? Bologna held Fiorentina to a 1-1 draw Thursday, relying on Di Vaio for the scoring once again. Bari needs to take this opportunity to pull themselves from the very bottom, counting on Lecce to lose a tough one at Lazio. I think they will do their part, 1-0 to the cockerels.

Catania v. Internazionale- Catania fell to Roma but get to go home and regroup for a tough test against Inter. Leonardo had his new charges looking much renewed in a comfortable win over Napoli.

I expect Inter to take all three again from this match. Catania have really been quite poor lately and Inter are looking to put themselves in a good position for when some of their key players return from injury. 0-2 to Inter. Gross.

Cesena v. Genoa – Genoa still can’t score and now they’ve lost leading poacher Luca Toni to Juventus. They just lost their share of Raffaele Palladino too, and he promptly netted for Parma. Their defense has been their strongest unit, and now they’ve lost Ranocchia to Inter.  Genoa are going to have a tough time the rest of the way. Hopefully this gets Azzurri prospect Mattia Destro some more playing time.

Cesena will have to maintain their positive home form if they have any shot of avoiding the drop. They’ve taken points in 5 out of 9 games at home this year ; 3 wins and 2 draws. The Seahorses’ Albanian striker Erjon Bogdani has probably been their best player. Jimenez has been playing well in the midfield as well. I really think they’ll take all three points at home. I’ll say, 2-0.

Chievo Verona v. Palermo- Chievo have really disappointed me. After a pretty strong start they have really dropped off. They lost 2-0 at Udinese Thursday while their next opponents were thrashing Sampdoria. The front duo for Chievo, Pellissier and Moscardelli, have been fairly solid but their defense has let them down.

I’m actually a little excited about Palermo. They have loads of good, young talent and have reminded me a lot of Napoli. Pastore staying put is an added bonus for any Palermo fans, and I think he’ll make good again against the Flying Donkeys. 1-4 for Palermo.

Fiorentina v. Brescia- If you haven’t been paying attention to Serie A, this might look like a no-brainer. But Fiorentina have simply not been good. Brescia is definitely a worse squad but they could make a game of this if La Viola aren’t prepared. I think their defense, anchored by Gamberini, will ultimately give Fiorentina the chance to snatch this one cheaply, 1-0.

Lazio v. Lecce- Lecce’s woes after losing their derby at home to Bari will continue in Rome. Lazio fell into the quagmire that is Genoa and were frustrated to a 0-0 draw last round. They’ll be hungry for maximum points and Lecce could very well find themselves bottom of the table come Monday. 3-0 to Lazio.

Parma v. Cagliari- Parma scored their biggest and best win over Juventus in Turin on Thursday and will look to keep it rolling against a Cagliari side that fell gamely to Milan. It’s a joy to still watch Crespo banging them in after all these years . Giovinco, on loan from Juve (whom he scored a brace against) is another good young Italian talent and I hope to see him flourish. Parma have found a way to grind out results all season.

Alessandro Matri (8 goals) and Andrea Cossu (9 assists) have been the standouts for a Cagliari side that is the only group in the bottom half of the table with a positive goal differential. They’re close to the relegation zone, but I expect them to get comfortable closer to the middle before the end of the season. This is a tough one to call, so I’ll wuss out and say 1-1.

Napoli v. Juventus- This should be a good one. Juventus got bad news when they learned that top scorer Quagliarella is out for the seasonwith an ACL injury. Luca Toni was brought in but it will most likely be Del Piero and Amauri up top for the Bianconeri. Melo is out for three games after he (come on, you all know the words) kicked a man in the face. Juve’s real strength is their midfield and it will still be well-stocked, so they won’t have any excuse if they come out flat against Napoli.

It seems Hamsik and Lavezzi still aren’t full strength, but I expect them to feature in what should be a very open game. If Juve use their midfield to drive the attack they may be playing right into Napoli’s hands. They’ve been great on the counter and an end-to-end game suits them just fine. I think the home team will prevail in the best match of the day, 3-2.

Sure there’s Manchester United v. Liverpool, and those silly NFL playoffs, but ten Serie A games are really what make this Sunday a great day to park it on the couch.