Week 5 Review, Week 6 Games

Week 5 Review of the Serie A

Week 5 of the Serie A saw the revival of three of the Scudetto contenders namely Internazionale FC, AC Milan, and AS Roma. Claudio Ranieri was able to help the Nerazzurri get back to winning ways beating Bologna 3-1 away. At the San Siro in Milan, AC Milan squeaked past Cesena 1-0 with a spectacular Seedorf curler from the edge of the box in the fifth minute of the first half. The Giallorossi defeated Parma 1-0 at the Tardini Stadium. The supposed game of the weekend between SSC Napoli and ACF Fiorentina ended in a scoreless draw as well as Juventus FC were held to a 1-1 draw at Catania.

Week 6 Preview of the Serie A

Week 6 may prove to have the best games on the trot as the big guns of Italian football go head-to-head in what could be Scudetto showdowns in the return legs. Internazionale FC welcomes SSC Napoli at the Giuseppe Meazza. In his first two games at the helm, newly appointed Nerazzurri head coach, Claudio Ranieri, was able to find the balance that was missing in previous games. This week though, he will have a tough task to face when the high-flying Partenopei come into town. The Napolitani are pumped from their 2-0 annihilation of Villareal at home in mid-week Champions League action. However, it will be interesting to see how Walter Mazzari copes with his major concern which is the loss of star forward Edison Cavani.

ACF Fiorentina will take on the studdering SSC Lazio at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Sinisa Mihajovic’s men are in stunning form so far this season sitting near the top of the table with 7 points, 1 point from first place. The Laziali have surprisingly under-performed this season collecting only 5 points from 4 games. Edy Reja is under pressure to motivate his side from both club patron Claudo Lotito and the fans. Lazio was defeated in the Europa League this week against Sporting Lisbon.

All eyes will be on the match in Turin between archrivals Juventus FC and AC Milan. The Bianconeri have started the season gaining 8 points from 4 matches and are coming from back-to-back 1-1 ties to Bologna and Catania. It will be a tough test for the bianconeri as they look to improve and return to glory. This is the first encounter for new Juventus midfield mastermind, Andrea Pirlo, who will aim to get the victory over his ex-Rossoneri teammates.  The bianconeri defence will have to be wary of AC Milan’s strike partnership Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano who combined very well in mid-week Champions League play in which Ibra scored a spot kick and set up the second goal with a perfect through ball which Cassano chipped over the goalkeeper.  Massimiliano Allegri was also able to recuperate Kevin Prince Boetang who returns from a back injury and is raring to go. It should be an exciting affair in front of a sold out Juventus Stadium.

Here are the rest of the fixtures for Week 6, my bold predictions, and the current Serie A table.

That is the last word on soccer

by Frank Luciano Giuliano