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Sep 23After a week in which five out of six Italian clubs made it through to the semi-finals of the three European competitions, the focus turns back to Serie A with much still to be decided.
Juventus, buoyed by the reversal on Thursday of their 15-point deduction, have as a consequence of that decision rocketed up from seventh to third, adding a new twist to the race for Champions League football as they prepare to face a wounded Napoli.
Meanwhile, second-placed Lazio host mid-table Torino, while Roma, now fourth, travel to Atalanta on Monday night.
Read on for the lowdown on the main storylines, plus information on how you can watch NINE of the division's games exclusively live on BT Sport.
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Old Lady re-Juvenated in UCL fight
It was a phenomenal Thursday for Juventus, who celebrated their 15-point Serie A deduction being reversed by earning a gritty draw at Sporting to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
Successive defeats domestically against Lazio and Sassuolo meant the prospect of qualifying for next season's Champions League had been pretty unlikely, but the points reinstatement has changed all that, putting the Old Lady third, three points ahead of Roma and six clear of Milan.
Now, after their high in Portugal, Massimiliano Allegri's men must quickly recover ahead of Sunday's clash at home to Napoli, who will hurting after their disappointing defeat to Milan in Europe's premier competition.
Despite registering 23 shots, Luciano Spalletti's side only managed to get four of them on target, a further indication of their dwindling attacking potency in recent weeks as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw a penalty saved.
The return of Victor Osimhen is a massive boost, the striker clinically heading home a consolation against the Rossoneri late on.
However, Spalletti has to contend with three fresh injuries, with Mario Rui (leg) and Amir Rrahmani and Matteo Politano (both ankle) all set to miss the trip to Turin.
Juventus will certainly not have be looking forward to facing Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia after the pair ripped them to shreds in January, but the Georgian hasn't registered a goal involvement since 19 March, so Allegri's charges may be happier to face him during this fallow period.
That said, Juve don't have a productive attacker in their line-up at the moment, with both Angel Di Maria and Dusan Vlahovic currently struggling for inspiration. Can this be the game where things improve for the duo?
Roma hope for Mour magical moments
Like Juventus, Roma had to fight hard to progress to the Europa League semi-finals, forcing extra time late on against Feyenoord before efforts from Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini booked their place in the last four, meaning an all-Italian final in Budapest is still on the cards.
A gleeful Jose Mourinho conducting the crowd before the final whistle had even sounded would have been a sight for sore eyes for his rivals given how much the Portuguese relishes the business end of the season.
The Giallorossi sit three points clear of Milan and occupy the final Champions League spot, but even if they were to relinquish that position, the opportunity to dine at Europe's top table could still be seized with Europa League glory.
With their focus back on league matters, Roma travel to Atalanta after comfortably seeing off Udinese last Sunday.
Of considerable comfort to Mourinho will be the fact that Tammy Abraham got on the scoresheet against the Friulians with a thumping header following a 13-game goal drought, while Paulo Dybala returned from injury with a bang on Thursday.
Aside from Rick Karsdorp (broken nose), Roma have a fully-fit squad as they target a fourth straight league win for the first time this season.
Atalanta by contrast have had a frustrating couple of months, winning just three of their last 11 games across all competitions and falling out of the top-four race.
Juventus' points reinstatement is a further nail in the coffin, putting Gian Piero Gasperini's men outside the European places altogether.
However, they remain only two points off a similarly inconsistent Inter. Can the resurgence begin on Monday, even with the possible absence of Ademola Lookman due to a thigh issue?
When will Inter's next win come?
Inter's season has been one of extremes.
They have already secured the Supercoppa Italiana - the Italian Community Shield - by beating rivals Milan in January, and are in the semi-finals of both the Coppa Italia and now the Champions League after knocking Benfica out of the latter competition.
However, their league form of late has been dire. Their most recent result - an embarrassing 1-0 home loss to Serie A newcomers Monza - means they have picked up just one point from the last 15 on offer.
Even the manner of their Champions League progression was unconvincing as the Nerazzurri looked to be on easy street only to concede two late goals to draw the return leg 3-3.
The restoration of Juventus' 15 points now means Inter sit sixth - five points off fourth-placed Roma - with the pressure ratcheting up on Simone Inzaghi.
Upcoming opponents Empoli are also in very poor form with just one win in 11 and saw Juventus loanee Koni De Winter go off in last Friday's defeat to Cremonese with a medium-grade MCL tear in his right knee.
That said, they may be able to find hope in the fact that their last away win was at Inter in January, the Florence side's first victory over the Nerazzurri since April 2006.
Will they complete a first-ever double over the 19-time Serie A winners?
Rossoneri rocked by points process
Milan displayed archetypal resilience, typified by the outstanding Fikayo Tomori, to largely subdue a ferocious Napoli attack on Tuesday, while Rafael Leao's spellbinding assist for Olivier Giroud helped set up a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final with rivals Inter in the process.
However, the Rossoneri may need to win the European Cup in order to get back into the competition next season as they currently sit fifth in Serie A following Juventus' 15-point restoration.
Frustrating draws against Empoli and Bologna almost make Sunday evening's game against Lecce feel like a must-win ahead of clashes with Roma, Lazio and Juventus before the end of May.
Davide Calabria is out due to a yellow-card suspension, with Alessandro Florenzi set to take his place, but other than that alteration and the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Stefano Pioli has a full complement of players to pick from.
Lecce have a similarly short injury list, but are in dire need of points.
Their 1-1 draw with struggling Sampdoria stopped a run of six straight defeats, but the threat of relegation still looms large, with Marco Baroni's men sitting just five points above 18th-placed Hellas Verona.
Lazio still have chance of title upset
It would be the most sensational title turnaround of all time if Lazio were to unseat Napoli and clinch their first Scudetto in 23 years.
The Partenopei led by 19 points at the end of March, but that gap has been cut to 14 thanks to the superb form of Maurizio Sarri's side, who have picked up 22 points from a possible 24 to establish themselves as the best of the rest (even with Juventus' 15 points re-added).
With Napoli facing a potentially perilous trip to Turin on Sunday, Lazio, no longer weighed down by playing in Europe, have the chance to reduce the deficit at the top to just 11 points with victory on Saturday evening against Torino, but will have to do without Ciro Immobile after his car collided with a tram in Rome.
The striker is out of hospital, but is likely to miss at least one fixture, meaning Pedro will probably start in his place, while Marcos Antonio will be pushing for a greater role against Ivan Juric's men after showing off his lightning pace on the counter-attack to score the third at Spezia last Friday, his first goal in Italian football.
By contrast, Torino have very little significant to play for. Sitting 11th, they are 12 points adrift of the European places and 16 points clear of relegation, having failed to win any of their last four.
The latest of those matches was a 1-1 draw against Salernitana as Antonio Sanabria equalised with his ninth of the campaign.
Per Schuurs returns from a yellow-card ban to provide some solidity at centre-back, although central midfielder Samuele Ricci was forced off last time out with a calf problem.
Curiously, the last four meetings between Lazio and Torino have been draws, with the previous head-to-head before that producing a 4-3 thriller in the capital club's favour. Let's hope for as many goals this weekend.
Your Serie A weekend on BT Sport
Friday
Hellas Verona vs Bologna (7.45pm on BT Sport 3)
Saturday
Lazio vs Torino (5.15pm on BT Sport 3)
Sampdoria vs Spezia (7.30pm on BT Sport 3)
Sunday
Empoli vs Inter (11.30am on BT Sport 1)
Udinese vs Cremonese (2pm on BT Sport 4)
Monza vs Fiorentina (2pm on BT Sport 2)
Milan vs Lecce (5pm on BT Sport 2)
Juventus vs Napoli (7.45pm on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate)
Monday
