Europe’s big leagues are on the way back and we have a feast of football to enjoy over the next two months, with Serie A throwing up exciting battles right through the league table.
In Germany and England the runaway leaders, FC Bayern and Liverpool have their leagues virtually sewn up, but in Spain, where Barca and Real Madrid prepare to do battle, and in Italy, the title races could well go down to the wire.
Juventus are in pole position but their lead over Lazio is a solitary point after head coach Simone Inzaghi has lead Le Aquile on an amazing run in search of a third Serie A title and a first since 2000. Meanwhile, further down the table, there are matters to be settled in terms of European qualification and league survival.
When the action restarts in two weeks time the Serie A fixtures will be coming thick and fast, and here at SBOBET we’ve picked five mouth-watering clashes from the first month.
Verona vs Napoli – Tuesday 23rd June
The opening round of fixtures, to be played on the 23rd and 24th June, throws up a couple of fascinating tussles at the top end of the table, and when Napoli head to Verona they could cement their position in the final guaranteed Europa League place. After a poor first half of the campaign, Gennaro Gattuso has steadied the ship and five wins from the last six have re-awakened Gli Azzurri’s campaign.
Verona have been the surprise package this season and stunned Juventus in February with a 2-1 win. But a defeat at home to Napoli would leave them seven points off the pace.
Atalanta vs Lazio – Weds 24th June
Inzaghi’s Lazio has a real test on its return to action, away to fourth placed Atalanta. The visitors have lost just two games all season, and those were early in the campaign before they embarked on a 21 match unbeaten run. They were the form team in Europe before the break but will the loss of momentum cost Lazio dearly?
Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta are in a Champions League spot and the Serie A 2020 betting odds suggest they’ll stay there. La Dea is in the quarter-finals of this season’s competition and will face PSG in their next game, having finished third in Serie A last season. While Lazio has the league’s hottest striker in Ciro Immobile, the hosts have plenty of firepower, with Josip Ilicic (15), Luis Muriel (13) and Duvan Zapata (11) scoring 39 goals between them.
AC Milan vs AS Roma – Sunday 28th June
A late winner courtesy of former Manchester United striker Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Roma a win in a seven goal thriller away to Cagliari after a double from Nikola Kalinic had put the Romans in charge. They currently sit in fifth place, three points behind Atalanta and have designs on a Champions League place.
Meanwhile, AC Milan are struggling along in seventh place, with two wins and two draws from the last six games and they have been leapfrogged by Napoli who now have a three point lead. I Rossoneri needs to make a statement of intent here.
Torino vs Genoa – Thursday 16th July
A month before the break, Torino was in the hunt for Europe while Genoa looked doomed, but this is now a big relegation six-pointer. The Turin giants lost the last six while Genoa managed three wins from four and just one defeat in six, to sneak out of the bottom three.
A win would take Genoa above 15th placed Torino who will look to captain Andrea Belotti, who currently has nine goals, to fire them to safety.
Juventus vs Lazio – Monday 20th July
The battle of the league’s top two is just over a month away, and if both Juventus and Lazio manage to pick up where they left off, then the winner of this game will take the initiative. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo against Ciro Immobile, the two leaders in the race for the Capocannoniere, though the Lazio man has a six goal lead (27 to 21) and looks to pick up the award for the third time.
While Lazio have been sprinting up on the rails Juventus are holding them off, just, thanks to their magnificent home form, winning 12 and drawing one of their 13 home games, and they have Atalanta and Roma still to play at the Allianz Stadium. Whether the Old Lady will be quite as imposing in an empty ground remains to be seen, and home advantage may count for little as we have seen in the Bundesliga.
Lazio have had the better of Juventus this term, winning their home fixture 3-1, and of all the Serie A 2020 results due in over the next weeks and months, this is the big one!
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