Round 13 of the 2018/19 Serie A season is headlined by 'Derby della Lanterna', Lazio taking on Milan and Juventus looking to continue their stunning start to the campaign with a further three-point haul at home to SPAL.
Yet it is the Stadio Communale Luigi Ferraris where most of the attention will be focused this weekend, as the Genoa battle – the ‘Derby of the Lanterns’ – sees the Rossoblu host La Samp. Genoa, who feature Ivorian star Christian Kouame, have seen their form fall off a cliff since sacking Davide Ballardini last month and need a strong showing to halt their plummet toward the relegation zone.
Sampdoria also come into the derby in poor form, with their 4-1 reverse at the hands of Roma prior to the international break bringing up a hat-trick of defeats (in which they have conceded 11 goals). They will hope veteran Fabio Quagliarella can rekindle some magic, though the threat of Krzysztof Piatek at the other end is likely to be a more pressing matter.
The round opens on Saturday afternoon with Seko Fofana and William Troost-Ekong’s Udinese looking to end a seven-game winless streak in Serie A, but they face a tough task in trying to quell a Roma side which has won seven of their last 10 matches across all competitions and scored 25 goals in the process.
Juventus should then cruise to a win at home to Alfred Gomis’ SPAL – if the Old Lady’s sublime league record is anything to go by – and Internazionale will look to revive the form which brought them seven straight wins (prior to a shock loss at the hands of Atalanta before the international break) when they host Frosinone.
The Nerazzurri will definitely be able to call on a fresh and rested Keita Balde, who unbelievably missed out on Senegal’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier this past weekend because his country’s football authorities sent a call-up letter to the wrong email address at Inter.
Another key match in the Italian top flight sees Franck Kessie’s Milan face a tough trip away to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. The Rossoneri were somewhat ‘put in their place’ in a 2-0 loss to Juventus on November 11, but manager Gennaro Gattuso’s bulldog spirit should see the giants determined to bounce back.
For African football followers, Sunday’s early afternoon game promises some intriguing action as Gervinho leads the Parma attack at home to Sassuolo, who can call on Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jeremie Boga, Alfred Duncan and Khouma Babacar.
Key match stats
Udinese v Roma – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 52
Udinese wins 14
Roma wins 28
Draws 10
Lazio v Milan – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 56
Lazio wins 9
Milan wins 25
Genoa v Sampdoria – Head-to-head, all competitions
Draws 22
Matches played 96
Genoa wins 24
Samp wins 37
Draws 35
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