A dramatic turn of events took place in Serie A last weekend as Lazio’s 0-3 defeat at home against AC Milan saw Juventus open up an astonishing seven-point lead at the top of the table after the Old Lady smashed Torino by a 4-1 scoreline.
With games coming thick and fast, both Lazio and Inter Milan dropped points over the weekend, which means the league leaders are well on course to pick up yet another Scudetto.
Standing in Juventus’ way this week will be AC Milan as Maurizio Sarri’s men travel to the San Siro.
That, and many more tricky fixtures await us in gameweek 31, so without further ado, let’s preview the mid-week’s round of matches in Serie A.
Lecce vs Lazio (Prediction: 1-2)
Having begun the season ever so well, Lazio’s chances of winning of the Scudetto are looking extremely slim now. Luckily for them, Inter Milan also dropped points last weekend, meaning the Eagles are still in second place on the standings.
Next up for Lazio is an away trip to Via del Mare on Tuesday night to face 18th-placed Lecce.
The hosts are still two points away from safety, but given their recent form, having suffered seven consecutive losses in Serie A, few would fancy them to come out victorious against Lazio.
AC Milan vs Juventus (Prediction: 0-2)
In the marquee fixture of gameweek 31 in Serie A, the Rossoneri will welcome league leaders Juventus to the San Siro in a bid to keep their European dreams alive.
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However, the Turin-based club are in some emphatic form of late, having won all seven of their previous games in the league. That being said, AC Milan have also been in good form, so the match between these two sides should be an epic encounter on Tuesday.
Genoa vs Napoli (Prediction: 1-2)
17th-placed Genoa will host Napoli at the Luigi Ferraris on Wednesday night in a game that is of much importance for both teams.
The home side are currently a just place above the drop zone, and are in dire need of points to save their Serie A status. Napoli, meanwhile, are embroiled in a dogged race to qualify for the Europa League next season and will be favourites heading into this fixture.
Fiorentina vs Cagliari (Predicion: 2-1)
La Viola finally got back to winning ways with a surprise 2-1 victory away to Parma recently, and their next assignment is a home game against Cagliari on Wednesday night.
Fiorentina are currently 13th on the Serie A standings, five points behind their opponents of gameweek 31.
Cagliari, who are further up in 11th place on the table, succumbed to a 0-1 defeat at home to Atalanta lately, and we expect a similar result for the visiting team when they travel to Stadio Artemio Franchi in mid-week.
Atalanta vs Sampdoria (2-0)
Atalanta’s win over Cagliari was their eighth consecutive victory in the league, and that explains why the Orobici are fourth on the table, just one point behind Inter Milan.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men will be hoping to extend that winning streak when they take on Sampdoria on Wednesday. The visitors’ recent victory over SPAL helped them into 14th place on the standings, but they face a stern test in Atalanta next.
Bologna vs Sassuolo (1-1)
A clash of two mid-table teams – ninth-placed Bologna will host 10th-placed Sassuolo at the Renato Dall’Ara in gameweek 31.
Only a solitary point currently separates these two sides, which means the mid-week match could be an evenly contested affair. With little more than pride to fight for, we expect a stalemate in the game between Bologna and Sassuolo.
Torino vs Brescia (Prediction: 2-1)
After going down to Juventus meekly, Torino will be hoping for a better display against Brescia, who served up the biggest upset of gameweek 30 by defeating Hellas Verona by a 2-0 margin.
Despite that result, Diego Lopez’s side are still in 19th place, five points adrift of safety. Torino, on the other hand, are further up in 16th, 10 points ahead of their mid-week opponents. All things considered, we expect the home team to win this one.
AS Roma vs Parma (Prediction: 2-2)
Both Roma and Parma lost their respective fixtures last weekend and will be gunning for a positive result when they meet each other at the Stadio Olimpico in mid-week.
After going down to AC Milan, Roma remain in fifth place, only due to having a superior goal difference over Napoli.
Parma, meanwhile, are 12th on the table, on the back of their recent defeat to Fiorentina. Judging by their current forms, we expect the two teams to cancel each other out and share the spoils on Wednesday.
SPAL vs Udinese (Prediction: 1-1)
The penultimate fixture of gameweek 31 will see Serie A’s rock-bottom team, SPAL play hosts to Udinese on Thursday night.
After their most recent defeat to Sampdoria, the home team are seven points away from safety, but the game against Udinese couldn’t have come at a better time for SPAL, given the recent struggles of Luca Gotti’s side.
The visitors are 15th on the standings, after playing a 2-2 draw with Genoa last weekend. Udinese and SPAL are both equally inconsistent, and so we expect another stalemate in this one.
Hellas Verona vs Inter Milan (Prediction: 1-2)
Having begun the current Serie A season on a stellar note, Inter Milan ran out of steam as the campaign progressed, and their recent defeat against Bologna means the Nerazzurri are under the risk of being overtaken by Atalanta.
Verona too dropped points last weekend, going down against minnows Brescia, and they face another stern test in the form of third-placed Inter on Thursday night.
The hosts are eighth on the table and will have to win all of their remaining games and hope for favours from other teams if they are to somehow find a place in next season’s Europa League.
