Champions Napoli top Serie A but in a close battle at the summit anything less than a win at Bologna this weekend could see them slip as low as fourth with a chasing trio ready to pounce.
Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw by Como last weekend, while Inter Milan and AC Milan joined AS Roma on 21 points, one point behind Antonio Conte’s side who face in-form Bologna on Sunday.
Bologna began slowly, with two defeats in their opening three games, but a seven-match unbeaten league run has propelled Vincenzo Italiano’s team to fifth place, four points off Napoli.
Napoli recently lost midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to a thigh injury, and they sorely missed the Belgian’s creative spark in their last two games, with Tuesday’s Champions League meeting against Eintracht Frankfurt ending in another 0-0 draw at home.
Conte was also without Leonardo Spinazzola and Billy Gilmour for the Frankfurt game after both went off injured against Como, and the manager continues to struggle with combining domestic and European competition, a problem Napoli did not have last season.
“We all have to understand that it is more difficult for the players, for the therapists, for the doctors, for me to prepare matches every three days,” Conte told Sky Sport after the Frankfurt draw.
“It’s more difficult because of injuries, there are all these problems that I think we are dealing with in the best possible way.”
INTER BACK IN THE MIX
Napoli beat Inter 3-1 less than two weeks ago, but Cristian Chivu’s side rebounded with two wins to pull themselves right back into the title race and on Sunday host Lazio, who, like Bologna, have recovered from a rocky start.
Lazio lost three of their opening four games but are unbeaten in six and have not conceded a goal in their last four matches.
Inter go into the Lazio game on the back of another Champions League victory in midweek and, while they struggled before overcoming Kairat Almaty 2-1, Chivu has helped them win their opening four games in the competition for the first time.
Milan, fresh from a 1-0 win over Roma, are undefeated since their opening day loss to Cremonese. Massimiliano Allegri’s side are at Parma on Saturday, a team who have registered one win all season and scored a mere five times in 10 games.
Roma will aim to bounce back from the Milan loss when they host Udinese on Sunday, while sixth-placed Juventus, who are four points off Napoli, will expect to take all three points in Saturday’s Turin derby under new manager Luciano Spalletti.
Torino have a poor record against their neighbours, without a win in their last 20 league meetings, and an away victory is even rarer against Juve, with the last one coming in 1995.
