Serie A Matchday 2: Juve look to keep up with leading pack

Italian football returned with a bang in a goal-heavy first weekend in Serie A — and Matchday 2’s fixtures promise more of the same.

Big hitters Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta and Napoli will all look to make it two wins from two in the top flight.

After already losing ground on their opponents by drawing with Udinese on Matchday 1, Juventus will be looking to kickstart their bid to reclaim the title with a victory on home soil against Empoli.

Verona vs Inter Milan (Friday, 7:30pm)

Inter Milan got their defence of the Scudetto off to the perfect start with a thumping 4-0 win against Genoa on Matchday 1.

After losing manager Antonio Conte as well as influential players Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi during a summer of turmoil, the Nerazzuri responded in emphatic fashion with new boys Hakan Calhanoglu and Edin Dzeko on target.

The victory took Inter’s record in 2021 to 19 wins in 25 matches, with only Manchester City winning more in this period across Europe’s top five leagues.

Verona’s third consecutive season in Serie A got off to an eventful start in a 3-2 home defeat by Sassuolo, with Miguel Veloso seeing red for the Gialloblu.

They have not lost the opening two games of a season since 1996 but face a tough task to keep that record intact.

Verona have not won any of their last 20 Serie A matches against Inter, their longest run against any other opponent in Serie A.

Any hopes of the hosts getting a result could hinge on the form of Mattia Zaccagni, who has been involved in 12 goals since the start of last season, more than any other player in his side.

Friday’s other game

Udinese vs Venezia (5:30pm)

Juventus vs Empoli (Saturday, 7:45pm)

Juve boss Max Allegri will hope to secure his first victory since returning to the club when they welcome newly-promoted Empoli to Turin.

Three points are a must for the Old Lady with all their rivals winning and Empoli look like the perfect opponent, with Juve’s win percentage of 79% over them their best against anyone else in Serie A they have faced at least three times.

That record includes 11 wins in the last 12 home games against Gli Azzurri, keeping a clean sheet nine times in that run.

Allegri will hope Juan Cuadrado continues his form, with last week’s strike making it three goals in his last three league appearances, the same amount he managed in his previous 85.

Aurelio Andreazzoli’s side were welcomed back to the top flight with a 3-1 defeat against Lazio and they have lost their opening two games in four of their last five Serie A seasons.

Empoli will hope Patrick Cutrone can find his scoring touch again after going 25 consecutive matches without netting across time at Wolves, Valencia, Fiorentina and Empoli.

Saturday’s other games

Lazio vs Spezia (Saturday, 5:30pm)

Atalanta vs Bologna (Saturday, 5:30pm)

Genoa vs Napoli (Sunday, 5:30pm)

After their humbling at the hands of Inter on Matchday 1, things might not get much easier for Genoa as they host a Napoli side with a point to prove this season.

Gli Azzurri missed out on Champions League football under Genaro Gattuso last season and Luciano Spalletti will want to make sure there are no such problems this time around and began with a 2-0 win over Venezia last week.

But if last season is anything to go by, it could be a difficult trip. A Goran Pandev brace handed Geona a 2-1 victory in February, ending a 17-game winless run against Sunday’s opponents.

Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne continued his impressive Euro 2020 form with a goal last week and will be looking to score in the opening two games of a Serie A season for the first time ever.

Another man to watch will be Matteo Politano, who has scored in each of his last two against Genoa, with four overall against Sunday’s opponents — his best record against any side.

Salernitana vs Roma (Sunday, 7:45pm)

Promoted side Salernitana are eyeing up their first points of the campaign after a 3-2 opening-day defeat to Bologna saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

If they can avoid the drop this season, they will more than likely rely on their home form, with an astonishing 22 of the Granata’s 23 wins in their history in Serie A coming at the Estadio Arechi.

Salernitana did win their most recent clash against Roma, but that was all the way back in 1999.

Jose Mourinho got his tenure at Roma off to the perfect start last week with a convincing 3-1 victory over Fiorentina as new signing Tammy Abraham put in an influential display and bagged two assists.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jordan Veretout were on target and the pair are first and third Serie A’s highest scorers charts over the last three seasons, with 23 and 18 goals respectively.

Mourinho will want to put an unwanted record to bed at the first time of asking, with Roma currently on a seven-game winless streak away from home.

AC Milan vs Cagliari (Sunday, 7:45pm)

A first-half Brahim Diaz strike was enough to ensure AC Milan started the 2021-22 season with a win against Sampdoria.

After sealing a return to the Champions League last season, the Rossoneri will hope they can go one further this season and challenge rivals for the title.

Previous records suggest Stefano Pioli’s side will make it two wins from two in their first game back at the San Siro, with Milan losing only three of their last 39 home matches against Cagliari.

The Isolani began with a 2-2 comeback draw against Spezia thanks to a second-half double from Joao Pedro.

The Brazilian has not scored in any of his last three games against Milan, having scored in each of the three before that, but last week’s double will do his confidence the world of good ahead of Sunday’s encounter.

While Pioli will still be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the tie, he will hope Olivier Giroud can get off the mark for his new club following his switch from Chelsea this summer.