Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Serie A Review, and Preview of Week 17

REVIEW OF THE SERIE A TABLE

Happy New Year to all of the soccer lovers out there! Now that the Holiday season has come to an end, it’s back to business as usual in the Serie A. A quick rundown of the standings will give the impression how tight and interesting the second half of the season will be. AC Milan and Juventus FC ended 2011 tied for first place with 34 points. It seems that these two teams will be renewing their championship battle as it was in the 1990s. Udinese Calcio sits closely behind the joint leaders in third place with 32 points which is surprising considering the club sold key players (Inler and Sanchez) and fell short of Champions League action losing to Arsenal in the qualifying round.  SS Lazio are following the bianconeri of Udine with 30 points, while Internazionale FC seem to be making an astonishing climb up the table currently placed fifth with 26 points.

PREVIEW OF WEEK 17

This week, Parma FC travels to Milan to face the Nerazzurri. The Inter players will be eager to show their optimism about 2012. Captain Javier Zanetti claims this year will be the year of Inter. Personally, I think he has to give his head a shake. US Città di Palermo is at home against SSC Napoli. The rosaneri Sicilians have two new weapons to release today: firstly, Swedish striker Agon Mehemti, who many are comparing to Zlatan Ibrahimovic; lastly, Argentine playmaker Franco Vasquez. Palermo is hoping these two players can help turn their season around. Napoli was also active on the transfer market acquiring the services of Chilean Forward Eduardo Vargas. The bianconeri of Udine will host the bianconeri seahorses Cesena. Udinese will aim to do what no small organization has ever done before and that is keep pace with the GIANTS of Italy: Juventus FC and AC Milan. The Friulani are the favourites for the 3 points. US Lecce will take on The Old Lady of Italian Football at the Stadio Del Mare in Lecce. Bianconeri Boss Antonio Conte returns to his place of birth and will strive to maintain the Juve’s first place status. The derby of Lombardia will take place this weekend with the nerazzurri of Atalanta hosting AC Milan this weekend in Bergamo. This will be a tough matchup for both teams.  The Rossoneri ended 2011 on a high beating Cagliari 2-0 on their travels. The Diavoli are currently one of the hottest teams in the Italian Championship. Atalanta is still undefeated at home and will provide a battle as the Bergamaschi are no push-overs. Milan has a history of struggle against their cross-region rivals Atalanta. Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri planned to rest Kevin Prince Boateng ahead of the week 18 clash in the Derby della Madonnina with Inter, but may now opt to field the Ghanian international due to injury concerns to the midfield. Alberto Aquliani is out with an ankle injury. Speaking of next week’s derby showdown between the 2 Giants of Milan, there also seems to be a derby taking place in the transfer market as both clubs have targeted Carlos Tevez as reinforcement. The Argentine striker has agreed to personal terms with AC Milan and prefers to play for the Rossoneri who has offered to take the player on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season. However, Inter has established an agreement with Manchester City in order to buy the player outright in the January transfer window. Manchester prefers to sell Tevez as quickly as possible. What a battle this will be!

SERIE A 2011-12

LATEST
Week 17 08 Jan 2012 (14.00 UK)
Atalanta Preview Milan
Bologna Preview Catania
Cagliari Preview Genoa
Inter Preview Parma(Sat 19.45)
Lecce Preview Juventus
Novara Preview Fiorentina
Palermo Preview Napoli(19.45)
Roma Preview Chievo
Siena 4 – 0 Lazio(Sat 17.00)
Udinese Preview Cesena(11.30)
FIXTURES
Week 18 15 Jan 2012
Catania Roma
Cesena Novara
Chievo Palermo
Fiorentina Lecce
Genoa Udinese
Juventus Cagliari
Lazio Atalanta
Milan Inter
Napoli Bologna
Parma Siena

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