Serie A

Change in the wind: Week 31 Scudetto Preview

By Ravin Sampat ⋅ March 28, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Seven games to go as Serie A approaches its most important weekend

The twist and turns of this seasons Serie A season could take a further leap into the unknown this weekend, as Inter face battling Lazio, whilst injury-prone Roma travel to Cagliari.

Roberto Mancini takes his stuttering Inter side to the city where he made his career highlights for the light blue of SS Lazio. Over the last month, Inter’s lead has significantly diminished, not least because the internal problems that Inter have had have taken their toll on Roberto Mancini’s superstars. Player-manager bust ups, criticism from the press, and questions over Inter’s performance against Liverpool in the Champions League have all added up to cripple Inter’s domestic charge, at least in the short run.

Of course, all this Inter self destruction would have been a complete waste for the neutral had Roma not capitalized. The Giallorossi are playing with a smooth manner, and despite the loss to Lazio in the Derby d’ Capitale, Roma find themselves 4 points behind the league leaders. Rather surprisingly, how many Roma fans will hope arch rivals Lazio beat Inter on Sunday night?

But Roma still have to work themselves, with Luciano Spaletti no doubt having one eye on the cracking Champions League encounter with Manchester United on Tuesday night. Whether he risks a weakened team on Sunday remains to be seen, but like I have mentioned before, Roma’s Scudetto challenge is as much to do with their own priorities as it is to do with the balance of the squad to focus on two competitions.

Sunday’s live Five coverage will show Juventus take on Hector Cuper’s Parma. It has been interesting to see Cuper bought back to the Italian game after his stint at Inter, and with Juventus on the moral high ground after their wonderful win in the Derby d’Italia, this match promises to be interesting as much as exciting as Juve chase Roma, and Parma fight off relegation.

If your looking for goals, Udinese’s fixture with Fiorentina at the Stadio Fruli may provide this. Both teams have gone off the boil in recent weeks with Milan strongly chasing both for the 4th Champions League spot. Udinese will need to win this to get back into the reckoning, whilst a Fiorentina win will almost certainly guarantee them a top 5 finish.

Player to watch this weekend: Tommasso Rocchi (Lazio)
Team to watch: Juventus
Shock of the weekend could come at: San Siro. Atalanta have a woeful away record, but could be up for this with Milan so inconsistent
Thrashing of the weekend: Again, the San Siro, as Atalanta’s away record see’s them concede a average of three goals each match.
Look out for: Roberto Mancini’s Inter scarf looking as big as a python. The scarf gets bigger and bigger every week

What won’t happen: Inter’s Marco ‘Matrix’ Materazzi and Lazio’s Valerio Behrami getting into a scuffle
What will happen: David Trezeguet will score

Arriverderci

Tags: Serie A

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