Serie A Matchday 13: Leaders Napoli visit reigning champions Inter

Last season’s Scudetto winners face the team looking to usurp them this weekend as leaders Napoli travel to Inter Milan.

Elsewhere, Lazio could break into the top four with victory over struggling Juventus, while the Andriy Shevchenko era begins at Genoa as they host Jose Mourinho’s stuttering Roma.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Matchday 13 in Serie A.

Game of the week: Inter Milan vs Napoli (Sunday, 5pm)

Reigning champions Inter trail unbeaten table-toppers Napoli by seven points coming into this clash, although the Nerazzurri have only lost one of their 12 games so far.

The visitors — who are coached by former Inter boss Luciano Spalletti — have gone 21 league games without tasting defeat but they have not beaten Inter in any of the sides’ last four meetings, losing three.

Inter are the top scorers in Serie A having found the net 29 times so far. However, they can expect to find it tough going against the Partenopei, who boast the league’s best defensive record with just four goals conceded.

Here are the other big games to watch this weekend…

Lazio vs Juventus (Saturday, 5pm)

With Lazio having won only two of their last 33 games against Juventus, the omens are not good for the Biancocelesti — though both of those victories have come in the last four Serie A campaigns.

Maurizio Sarri’s side will no doubt fancy their chances against Juve this time around, having taken 16 points from a possible 18 at home this season. The Bianconeri, meanwhile, lost 2-1 to Verona in their last away outing.

Lazio could record three consecutive home wins without conceding for the first time since October 2015, while the visitors have not gone longer than their current six games without scoring twice in a match for 13 years.

Fiorentina vs AC Milan (Saturday, 7.45pm)

Fiorentina are currently alternating wins and defeats — and a continuation of that pattern on Saturday night would end Milan’s 17-game unbeaten run after the hosts lost to Juve last time out.

The Rossoneri have not lost in Serie A since the end of April and will go top of the pile if they better Napoli’s result this weekend. 

Victory for the hosts, meanwhile, could move them to within a point of the Champions League places.

Milan have scored more goals this season (26) than any side in the division bar arch-rivals Inter. Those strikes have been spread around though, with no player notching more than four times.

In contrast, eight of Fiorentina’s 16 goals have come from frontman Dusan Vlahovic, who hit a hat-trick as the Viola beat Spezia 3-0 in their last home fixture.

Salernitana vs Sampdoria (Sunday, 2pm)

Sunday afternoon sees a basement battle at the Stadio Arechi, where a win for Salernitana will take them out of the bottom three if Genoa lose to Roma, while a draw will be good enough for Sampdoria to climb out of the drop zone in that event.

The hosts have struggled badly for goals this season, finding the net a league-low 10 times and failing to score in a league-high six different games. 

Sampdoria have not fared much better though, drawing a blank on four occasions.

These are two of the most direct teams in Serie A. Salernitana rank first in the division for direct speed, progressing the ball upfield at 2.08 metres per second, while Sampdoria are not far behind in third (1.71 m/s).

Genoa vs Roma (Sunday, 7.45pm)

New Grifone manager Shevchenko has a big job on his hands to transform struggling Genoa’s fortunes but his first game in charge pits them against the ideal opponents in out-of-form Roma. They have lost four and won only one of their last seven matches in all competitions.

Jose Mourinho — who managed Shevchenko at Chelsea — has lost four out of six Serie A away fixtures in charge of the Giallorossi, who went down 3-2 at Venezia last time out. 

However, their 14-match unbeaten run against Genoa is their longest against any current Italian top-flight team.

Do not expect early goals in this one. Only 19th-placed Salernitana (none) have scored fewer times in the opening 30 minutes of games this season than Roma and Genoa, who have found the net just once and twice respectively in that period.

This weekend’s other games

Atalanta vs Spezia (Saturday, 2pm) 

Sassuolo vs Cagliari (Sunday, 11.30am) 

Bologna vs Venezia (Sunday, 2pm) 

Verona vs Empoli (Monday, 5.30pm) 

Torino vs Udinese (Monday, 7.45pm)