Inter Milan may have already won this year’s Serie A trophy a few weeks ago, but the last three matchdays of the 2023-24 campaign should be watched with great interest because of the intensifying battle for European berths.
With second-placed AC Milan likely to join Inter Milan in the Champions League next season, the three remaining spots are up for grabs between Juventus, Bologna, Atalanta, and AS Roma, although Lazio still have a puncher’s chance to sneak in.
Among these teams, Atalanta are in the best form, and they’ll take on a formidable opponent in AS Roma, while Bologna pay a visit to Naples to meet Napoli, and Juventus are slated to host Salernitana.
Without further ado, continue reading below as SBOTOP analyses these three important games one by one.
Atalanta vs AS Roma
The match between Atalanta and AS Roma is arguably the main event of Matchday 36 because there’s a lot on the line. These two teams are evenly matched with 60 points apiece, and this was evident in their 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
When these two teams met at the Stadio Olimpico in January, Atalanta jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Teun Koopmeiners scored in the eighth minute, but Paulo Dybala scored the equaliser via a penalty kick when Matteo Ruggeri fouled Rick Karsdorp inside the box.
Jose Mourinho was still with I Giallorossi back then, and he was thrown out of the game against Atalanta for protesting at the officials for a foul on Romelu Lukaku.
This time, it will be different because Daniele De Rossi is now at the helm for AS Roma and because Atalanta are having a busy week.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have a rare opportunity to win a double this season because they’re in the Europa League semi-finals and the Coppa Italia final. However, fatigue may set in for them because they’ll play Marseille tomorrow before they host AS Roma on Sunday.
To their credit, Atalanta are undefeated in their last five games in all competitions, and Gasperini has been brilliant in rotating this squad so far, so this is not a walk in the park for AS Roma, who are also undefeated in their last three games.
This game could go either way, and we’re expecting a lot of Serie A 2024 highlights from these two teams, given their collective firepower.
Napoli vs Bologna
Bologna can push up ahead in the standings with a win against Napoli on Saturday. Before this weekend, these two sides engaged in a goalless draw in their reverse fixture last September.
Both teams are coming off back-to-back draws, but the Serie A 2024 odds favour the visitors because of their 13-point advantage over their hosts.
Another factor that plays in Bologna’s favour is the possibility that Napoli might not have Victor Osimhen available this weekend. The Nigerian international had to be taken off against Udinese on Monday after he appeared to have sustained a knock.
Losing him is a major blow to the Partenopei’s frontline because he is their leading scorer this season with 17 goals and three assists.
Other than Osimhen, Napoli are also sweating on the fitness of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who didn’t play on Monday due to a thigh injury. The Georgian winger is the team’s second-leading scorer, with 10 goals and seven assists this year.
If both of them sit this one out, then Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspadori, and Jesper Lindstrom will start up front for the Partenopei, with Cyril Ngonge and Giovanni Simeone being additional attacking options off the bench.
As for Bologna, they will be led by the dynamic duo of Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Orsolini, who have combined for 21 goals and six assists so far this year.
Juventus vs Salernitana
The most straightforward match out of the three is the one between Juventus and Salernitana, given their gap in the Italian top-flight standings, with the former in third and the latter at the bottom.
Salernitana, who are expected to be relegated, will look to spoil Juventus’ undefeated run to put a slight dent in their Champions League hopes.
Juventus will look to clinch their Champions League spot as soon as possible, but they have drawn four consecutive times in the league. So, beating Salernitana would surely help since it would also give them momentum ahead of the Coppa Italia final next Wednesday.
The Bianconeri defeated the Granata 2-1 in their reverse fixture in January, with Samuel Iling-Junior and Dusan Vlahovic outscoring Giulio Maggiore. We should expect a similar result, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
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