Football

Five things to watch during Serie A Matchday 33 as Napoli look to secure the title at the second time of asking - live on BT Sport!

The Partenopei had the chance to win the Scudetto for the first time in 33 years on Sunday following Lazio's loss at Inter, but after slipping up against Salernitana, Luciano Spalletti's men can get the job done on Thursday at Udinese.

Published: 1 May 2023, 2.49pm | 6 min read

The stage looked perfectly set on Sunday for Napoli to wrap up their first Serie A title since 1990, but after Inter delivered by coming from behind to beat second-placed Lazio 3-1, the Partenopei could only frustratingly draw 1-1 at home to Salernitana.

The good news for Luciano Spalletti and his team is that they can make amends for that slip-up on Thursday at mid-table Udinese, where victory would definitely seal the Scudetto, irrespective of what anyone else does.

In a packed round of midweek fixtures – which sees every single match from the Italian top flight shown exclusively live on BT Sport – Lazio look to stay ahead of Juventus by defeating Sassuolo, while the Old Lady host relegation-threatened Lecce.

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Upcoming Champions League semi-final adversaries Inter and Milan are locked on 57 points in the pulsating battle for top-level European football next term and face Hellas Verona and Cremonese respectively, with Roma travelling to Monza and Atalanta aiming to propel themselves into the top six with three points against Spezia.

Read on for the lowdown on the main storylines, plus information on how you can enjoy this early May football feast on BT Sport.

Will Napoli get party started in Udine?

After raucous scenes on the streets of Naples and at Stadio Diego Maradona in the run-up to the Salernitana match, the contest itself fell a little flat.

The hosts were on the front foot from the off, with Victor Osimhen failing to open the scoring with three headers and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa drawing an excellent save from Guillermo Ochoa with a stinging volley.

The deadlock was eventually broken through Mathias Olivera's 62nd-minute downward header, causing bedlam in the stands.

Eljif Elmas almost doubled the lead for the champions-elect, but skewed his effort just wide, before Boulaye Dia burst the Napoli bubble late on by jinking past Osimhen and producing an excellent left-footed curler that beat Alex Meret.

Luciano Spalletti said afterwards that the slight setback "just extends the celebration" of their imminent title triumph, and while the players will be slightly disappointed not to have achieved their objective in front of their adoring fans, they can make immediate amends with a win at Udinese on Thursday.

The only absentees heading to Friuli-Venezia Giulia are Matteo Politano and Mario Rui, while for their opponents, Gerard Deulofeu (knee) and Enzo Ebosse (ACL) won't feature.

Udinese's latest outing saw them lose 1-0 at Lecce, and with safety already assured, Andrea Sottil's side may be lacking motivation heading into the home stretch of the campaign.

However, after a 3-1 win over Milan and a goalless draw at Atalanta in the last two months, Spalletti certainly won't be underestimating them.

Luciano Spalletti is still very relaxed after Napoli missed their first chance to win a long-awaited Scudetto

Eagles face long-time nemesis Berardi

Lazio looked to have Champions League qualification sewn up a few weeks ago, but a 1-0 loss at home to Torino and a 3-1 reverse at Inter since then has led to squeaky bums galore in the blue half of Rome.

That latest defeat at San Siro was especially disheartening after Maurizio Sarri's men took the lead on 30 minutes thanks to Felipe Anderson's precise finish, only to suffer a late collapse as Lautaro Martinez bagged a double either side of Robin Gosens' acrobatic volley.

Lazio remain four points clear of fifth-placed Milan heading into the last six fixtures, and while on paper they have a fairly kind run-in, they do face the Rossoneri on Saturday in what's looking like a pivotal encounter in determining the make-up of the top four.

Before then though, Sarri must prepare his charges for the challenge of Sassuolo, who have improved significantly since the end of January, recording eye-catching wins over Milan, Roma and Juventus in that time.

Their most recent triumph over Empoli was the inverse of Lazio's trip to Inter as the Neroverdi fell behind on 11 minutes before turning things round at the death while down to 10 men thanks to a Domenico Berardi brace, the first of which was an exquisite volley.

The 28-year-old is now the top scorer for Alessio Dionisi's side in the league this season with eight goals and will need to shoulder even more of the attacking burden following the controversial red card against Empoli of Andrea Pinamonti, who will now be suspended for the visit to the Stadio Olimpico.

Berardi does love facing Lazio however, having scored nine times against them in 14 previous meetings. Can he make that 10 on Wednesday evening?

Domenico Berardi hauled Sassuolo to victory against Empoli to take his tally to eight league goals this term

Can Old Lady revive league fortunes?

Although Juventus were boosted by the news two weeks ago that their 15-point deduction had been reversed, their form on the pitch in Serie A has dipped worryingly.

Three straight defeats against Lazio, Sassuolo and Napoli - their worst league run for more than 12 years - were followed at the weekend by a 1-1 draw at Bologna, a game in which Arkadiusz Milik saw a tame penalty saved before atoning for that error with a drilled equaliser just after the hour.

Juve are still three points ahead of both Milanese clubs and Roma, but with games against Atalanta and Milan to come, Massimiliano Allegri's men can ill-afford too many more below-par displays.

Allegri will be hoping that Angel Di Maria can get back fit for the visit of Lecce after an ankle problem ruled him out of the trip to Bologna, while Moise Kean's return date from a thigh issue is unclear at this stage.

Given Lecce's precarious position in 16th, they certainly have lots to fight for and will arrive in Turin buoyed by a 1-0 win over Udinese - their first victory in more than two months - that has moved them four points clear of the bottom three.

And they may well be quietly confident of getting something at Allianz Stadium given the form of the Old Lady and the fact that Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Chiesa and Milik have struggled in front of goal in 2023.

Federico Chiesa hasn't scored in Serie A since returning in November from an ACL rupture

Lukaku central to Nerazzurri resurgence

It has largely been another season fraught with difficulty for Romelu Lukaku, who returned to Inter last summer following a campaign to forget at Chelsea after moving back there for £97.5m in 2021.

However, the last two games in blue and black have really underlined how formidable the 29-year-old can be.

Two laser-like strikes at Empoli were followed by a gorgeously weighted pass for Lautaro Martinez to round things off in Florence.

And Lukaku then proved instrumental in the turnaround against Lazio last time out, producing a lovely swivel and lay-off for Lautaro to equalise before clipping an inch-perfect cross into the path of Robin Gosens for the German to volley in spectacularly.

The return to form of both Lukaku and Lautaro could not have come soon enough for the under-pressure Simone Inzaghi, with the Nerazzurri fighting to finish in the top four, as well as having a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final with Milan and a Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina on the horizon.

Next up for Inter is a journey east to meet Hellas Verona, who are enjoying a purple patch under Marco Zaffaroni and may yet burrow their way out of their relegation zone.

Eight points from a possible 12 have moved the Gialloblu level with 17th-placed Spezia, with their latest result a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Cremonese as Simone Verdi volleyed in his third goal in two games following his double in the priceless win over Bologna.

Zaffaroni will be sweating on the fitness of wing-back Fabio Depaoli, who was forced off just half-time in Cremona with a shoulder issue, but the 54-year-old will have Davide Faraoni back to slot in if necessary. However, striker Kevin Lasagna is definitely out with a thigh injury.

Milan with massive May ahead

To say that the next month is important for Milan is something of an understatement.

After a dramatic draw at Roma - which saw Tammy Abraham open the scoring on 94 minutes only for Alexis Saelemaekers to convert Rafael Leao's cross at the death - Milan have slipped behind Inter, a situation compounded by the fact that Juventus recently had their 15-point deduction overturned.

That means the Rossoneri are out of top four for the time being with huge matches against Lazio and Juventus in prospect, as well as a monumental Champions League semi-final clash with Inter.

Stefano Pioli will have been pleased with the impact Saelemaekers had after coming on in the second half at the Stadio Olimpico for Brahim Diaz, but the Italian will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the majority of the run-in due to a calf problem.

Relegation-threatened Cremonese arrive at San Siro off the back of a deflating 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Hellas Verona.

The Grigiorossi took an early lead through David Okereke's composed strike, only to go down to 10 men just after the hour when Giacomo Quagliata punched Pawel Dawidowicz in the chest.

That moment of madness proved costly as Simone Verdi then drew the visitors level, leaving the hosts seven points adrift of safety with six games left.

A trip to San Siro marks the start of a tough run of games that also includes clashes with Juventus, Bologna and Lazio, but Davide Ballardini can be confident that his men can get something against Milan after a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture, one of the few high points this term under precedessor Massimiliano Alvini before he was given the boot in January.