Serie A, Review Week 22 and Preview of Week 23

Review of Serie A, Week 22

Week 22 was a tricky one for the Serie A as Italy has been struck with an arctic blast of extreme cold temperature that the Italians have not experienced in decades! In the nation’s capital, AS Roma destroyed Internazionale FC with a well rounded result, 4-0. Nerazzurri boss Claudio Ranieri was very disappointed with his side’s performance as he returned to the Stadio Olimpico for the first time as an opponent. Roma youngster Fabio Borini bagged a brace for the Giallorossi. ACF Fiorentina defeated Udinese Calcio 3-2 in an incredibly entertaining match-up with excellent flow of play from both teams. Stevan Jovetic scored twice for the Viola. Juventus FC remains undefeated and top of the table with a tie at home against Siena. In the second half, the Bianconeri poured on the pressure, but the Siena defence held off the Old Lady’s siege. Juve had penalty appeals waived, but replays show that Vergassola of Siena clearly handled the ball in the 18-yard box. At the San Siro in Milan, AC Milan continued to struggle as they tied SSC Napoli 0-0. Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed his frustration by slapping Napoli defender Aronica, for which he received a red card and a three-game suspension from the Lega Calcio. This bone-headed move really hurts the Rossoneri who are already short-handed in all sections of the park. Ibra will miss key fixtures against Udinese Calcio, but more importantly he will sit out the top-of-the-table clash against Juventus.

 

Preview of Week 23

As was noted, Italy continues to be hit by blizzards and freezing cold temperatures which, so far, have caused two Week 23 match-ups to be postponed namely Bologna v Juventus and Parma v Fiorentina.

 AC Milan starts the weekend off in Udine where they will take on third-place Udinese Calcio. The bianconeri of Udine will be aiming to keep their undefeated home streak against a broken Rossoneri side. This game is important for both clubs as they are in need of the three points in order to keep pace with Juventus at the top who currently has two games to recuperate, both being against Parma and Bologna away from Turin. The Diavoli are currently displaying a poor run of form, more recently coming from a Coppa Italia defeat at home against Juventus in midweek. They will also take on Arsenal in the Champions League in the upcoming round of games. Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri has called for the excuses to end and to start winning games again. There is no better time for this than now against a Scudetto rival!

Siena v Roma. The Giallorossi would love to obtain back-to-back wins but it will be tough against a stubborn team like Siena who have been playing well as late, most recently defeating SSC Napoli 2-1 in Coppa Italia action at the San Paolo in Naples.

Napoli v Chievo. Walter Mazzarri’s men are without a win in five consecutive league games and desperately want to avoid a fourth loss to Chievo who are more than capable of causing trouble for any team in the Italian league.

Inter v Novara. The Nerazzurri are aiming to put the embarrassing defeat in Rome last weekend behind them with a convincing win against last-placed Novara. Novara’s objective this season is to try to remain in the Serie A and will attempt to take advantage of Inter’s weak confidence and defence early on in this game. That’s the last word…

 

Week 22		05 Feb 2012
Cesena	P – P	Catania
Chievo	1 – 2	Parma
Fiorentina	3 – 2	Udinese
Genoa	3 – 2	Lazio
Juventus	0 – 0	Siena
Lecce	0 – 0	Bologna
Milan	0 – 0	Napoli
Novara	0 – 0	Cagliari
Palermo	2 – 1	Atalanta
Roma	4 – 0	Inter

Week 23 12 Feb 2012 (14.00 UK)
Atalanta	Preview	Lecce
Bologna	P – P	Juventus(19.45)
Cagliari	Preview	Palermo(Sat 19.45)
Catania	Preview	Genoa
Inter	Preview	Novara
Lazio	3 – 2	Cesena(Thu 19.45)
Napoli	Preview	Chievo(Mon 19.45)
Parma	P – P	Fiorentina
Siena	Preview	Roma(Mon 19.45)
Udinese	Preview	Milan(Sat 17.00)