Six Serie A Stats Put To The Test This Weekend
Napoli’s form
The form side in the league? No it’s not Napoli, it’s leaders Milan, with 13 points out of their last 18. Napoli are second however, a mere point behind. Their game at home against Genoa will certainly be a juicy one. The port side has rather stealthily climbed to fourth in the form table, with 10 points out of their last 18 (Serie A is fantastically competitive this year). Although a Scudetto chase is all but over for Edinson Cavani’s team, a win is nevertheless necessary to ensure that they do not get drawn into the race for fourth place.
Streaks- not just for running across pitches naked
AC Milan are on a four game winning streak; Bologna are on a five game winless streak. Easy, no? Milan should win without a fuss, and that’s that. There’s only one minor problem. Rumors are emerging from Italy that Bologna coach Alberto Malesani has been given one game to get his team back to winning ways, or else he’ll be fired. That game? This one. Expect fireworks, and at the very least, an expletive filled press conference afterwards.
A late season slide
If one were asked about which team had lost the most games out of their last four, the answer would most likely be Bari. After all, they’re already relegated. But Bari have only lost two of their last four. Bologna have lost all four, which is hardly surprising as well if you’ve read the second number on this list. Rather surprisingly, Udinese come next, with three losses out of their last four fixtures. Around February, there was talk of a potential Scudetto run. Yet if Udinese fail to win against Fiorentina away- which is not at all a given- the race for fourth place will be exceptionally tight, like the belt of a forty year old man after six months off from the gym and a belly full of Thanksgiving dinner. That is, somehow tighter than it already is.
That whole “40 points equals safety” rule
Sampdoria and Brescia face off in what might just actually be, truly, a relegation battle. Should Brescia lose, they’ll be left on 30 points, potentially 8 points from safety and all but relegated. Sampdoria would be propped up to 38 points, which might actually be enough to save them in this rather competitive Serie A year. However, a win for the away side would throw all kind of wrenches into the sink and open up the relegation battle massively. Il Doria have only scored twice in their last six games however, and one of those was against Bari. Brescia just may have the upper hand.
Juventus’ record against big teams
The Bianconeri tend to do very well against the top sides in Italy but struggle against the lower ones, a kind of bizarre mentality issue that borderlines on complacent arrogance. Thus a match against Lazio should be a hard fought and gritty win for the away side. However, the Roman team know that every point is precious from this part of the season onward and really need to consolidate fourth after a loss last matchday. The Aquile will not go down without a fight, but luckily for onlookers, Juventus always go to battle with a whole lot of grinta.
Two game winning runs
Palermo and Parma have an awful lot in common and I’d be interested to see the soccer spread for this match. One aspect is simply that both were awful just a short while ago. Both have since righted the ship and have won their last two, pushing the two sides that begin with “P” back towards the upper parts of the table. However, the two sides face off, which means that inevitably, one streak must come to an end- if not both, in the case of a tie. This game also features the most potentially interesting matchup as Amauri returns to face the side that made him the striker for which Juventus overpaid so much. Astonishingly, the Brazilian has scored the last three goals for Parma- two against Udinese and one against Inter. Can he repeat his heroics when his heart will be telling his feet what to do?
