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Sep 23The Serie A season is now well underway and a fascinating title race is already taking shape.
Just two rounds in and the table is beginning to take on a familiar look, with the top five made up of the biggest and most expectant clubs in the division.
Napoli lead the way after a flying start to the season, ahead of Inter and Roma, all with two wins from two. Juventus and Milan follow on four points, and both will hope to mount title challenges this season.
Here, we round up all the big talking points ahead of another big week in Italy.
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Lazio vs Inter
Inter have made a formidable start to their Serie A campaign, edging past Lecce on the opening day before a convincing 3-0 win over Spezia last time out.
Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez have rekindled their partnership from the 2020/21 season, immediately linking up well. Both have netted in the opening two games and will be tough to stop for even the strongest defences in the division.
Lazio can probably count themselves amongst the stingiest teams in the league, with just one goal conceded so far. The issue for Maurizio Sarri’s side may be a lack of creative spark, though striker Ciro Immobile is always a goal threat.
Inter will head to Rome as favourites but this will be the first real test of their title credentials.
Juventus vs Roma
It’s a real clash of the titans in Turin on Saturday as Juventus meet Roma at the Allianz Stadium.
In typical Mourinho fashion, Roma have started the season with back-to-back 1-0 wins, but there is a sense of real expectation at the club.
Summer signing Paulo Dybala returns to his former club this weekend and will hope to inflict some damage in what could be an important game even at this early stage.
Juventus were held to a goalless draw at Sampdoria last time out but the signs suggest they will be stronger than last season, particularly with the lethal Dusan Vlahovic leading the line.
Expect a close, hard-fought contest and an intriguing battle of minds between Max Allegri and Mourinho.
Milan vs Bologna
Milan are still the team to beat after winning their first Scudetto in over a decade last season.
They could only manage a point at Atalanta last weekend but that may well be a respectable point in the grand scheme of things.
Bologna, meanwhile, have picked up just one points from their first two games, going down to ten men in both.
On a more positive note, Marko Arnautovic, unfazed by links to Manchester United, has scored twice and will be the focal point again at San Siro.
Whether Bologna will have enough quality to trouble Milan away from home remains to be seen, but there was a fluidity about Stefano Pioli’s side on the opening day win over Udinese that suggests they could score plenty of goals this season.
Fiorentina vs Napoli
Napoli may well be the team to watch in Serie A this season. Luciano Spalletti’s side have looked scarily good in the opening two games, trashing Verona 5-2 before a 4-0 win over Monza last time out.
Star striker Victor Osimhen has two goals to his name, while new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has made a spectacular start, netting three times in his first two Serie A appearances.
Napoli’s prolific early form will certainly worry Fiorentina, but the hosts should offer more resistance than Verona and Monza.
Vincenzo Italiano’s team have made a solid, if unspectacular, start to the season. They needed an injury-time winner to beat ten-man Cremonese 3-2 on the opening day, before a goalless draw at Empoli - who also played the final 25 minutes with ten men - last weekend.
If Napoli can continue their free-flowing, high-scoring performances in Florence, the rest of Serie A will start to take notice.
Matchday 3 fixtures live on BT Sport
Saturday 27 August
Cremonese vs Torino, 5.30pm on BT Sport 5
Juventus vs Roma, 5.30pm on BT Sport 2
Milan vs Bologna, 7.45pm on BT Sport 1
Spezia vs Sassuolo, 7.45pm on BT Sport 5
Sunday 28 August
Hellas Verona vs Atalanta, 5.30pm on BT Sport 1
Salernitana vs Sampdoria, 5.30pm on BT Sport 2
Fiorentina vs Napoli, 7.45pm on BT Sport 1
Lecce vs Empoli, 7.45pm on BT Sport 5
