<span class="titolo">Serie A Preview: Matchday 3 Roundup</span></p> <span class="sommario">Luca Manes looks ahead to the weekend's Serie A action with a round-up of each game in Matchday 3...</span></p> Siena – Milan This was supposed to be a gala festival celebrating Ronaldo's return, as the injury prone phenomenon was due to be back for the trip to Tuscany. Last season his brace helped Milan to win a 4-3 thriller, nut the Brazilian will not be available for another 4-5 weeks because of a muscular problem, putting paid to that idea. Ancelotti (pictured) will then employ his beloved Christmas tree formation (4-3-2-1), hoping that either Inzaghi or Gilardino up front will show some progress in their unimpressive state of form. The Rossoneri need a win after they dropped a couple of points in the Fiorentina game at San Siro two weeks ago. Can Pirlo and Ambrosini repeat the great performances they for the Azzurri earlier this week? Siena, for their part, are desperate for points. They've lost both games so far, despite showing quite a bit of quality. At the Olimpico against Roma, for example, they didn't deserve to lose 3-0. They created quite a few chances, but Corvia and Maccherone were not that clinical in their finishes. The back pack conceded five goals in two games, so gaffer Mandorlini must work on that prior to the Milan game. It won’t be that easy, but in the end Milan should get the three points. Prediction: Siena 1 – 2 Milan Lazio – Empoli Lazio are looking forward to their first Champions League game in more than three years, but first of all they have to face Empoli. That could be a very tricky affair indeed. The Biancocelesti have managed just two points so far; failing to win at home yet again could prematurely crush their Serie A dreams. Speculations about Rocchi heading to Monaco, and Lotito planning to build a new stadium outside Rome, haven't helped the team and especially the tifosi to concentrate properly on their next Serie A opponents. Cagni was really upset his team lost to Inter a couple of weeks ago as the Biancoblu put in a great performance throughout the game. Nonetheless they’re bottom of the table and missing Juve-bound Almiron, former Lecce man Giacomazzi not yet looking like a perfect replacement for the Argentinean. After Fiorentina and Inter, Empoli will face another top club in Lazio just before their UEFA Cup debut. Can they get at least a point before the Euro adventure begins? It will be a very complicated match, but Lazio can make it, even if by a narrow margin. Prediction: Lazio 1 – 0 Empoli <u>Sunday 16th September</u> Fiorentina-Atalanta The Viola were unlucky not to get the three points at the San Siro against Milan. They showed that this year they can really be a major threat for every Serie A big team, but just failed to take the win. Coach Prandelli is convinced that they can get the fourth place, especially if Montolivo and Mutu keep on playing as they have been. Young striker Pazzini is also expected to raise his game a little further and to replace Luca Toni in the Viola supporters’ hearts. And they're strong at the back. Defenders like Dainelli and Gamberini are pivotal to the Violan's brilliant start to the season. Del Neri’s team can be quite happy with their four points to date. They are unlikely to repeat last season great campaign; despite being newly promoted, they nearly managed to get a UEFA Cup berth. So it would be a real surprise if they could end up unbeaten at Stadio Franchi. Pazzini and Montolivo are both products of Atalanta’s great academy but, even if the club is very proud of them, the Nerazzurri just hope they can have a bad day at the office next Sunday. Another easy home win for the Viola is on the cards. Prediction: Fiorentina 2 – 0 Atalanta Genoa – Livorno These are definitely two teams lacking quality, as shown so far in the League standings. The newly-promoted home side, though, picked up an important point at Catania after being thrashed by Milan. Up front, Di Vaio was a major disappointment for the Rossoblu, though, failing to create chances, and also not quite managing to find a good understanding with Sculli and former Cesena man Papa Waigo. Maybe he can find the back of the net against the worst Serie A defence. Livorno must have set a sort of new record, conceding nine goals in only 180 minutes. But volcanic president Spinelli, former Genoa supremp, has refused to dismiss coach Orsi. Instead, he believes Albanian striker Bogdani, just signed from Chievo, could boost his team’s chances to retain their Serie A status. It could be a decisive game for both, even though the Serie A has just started. Genoa should get their first Serie A win in twelve years against struggling Livorno. Prediction: Genoa 3 – 1 Livorno Inter – Catania Mancini is expected to rotate his team a bit, so maybe we’ll have a chance to watch controversial Adriano from the start. For sure, we’ll not be admiring Chivu and Samuel, both injured and causing a headache to the former Lazio coach. Things will be even worse next week as he's set to miss other defenders due to some lengthy bans in the Champions League next Wednesday. But the Nerazzurri have to concentrate on the Serie A first, trying not to repeat the poor home performance they had against Udinese three weeks ago. Inter cannot afford to drop points and at the same time they have to show some progress in the quality of their game. The team from Sicily is in a pretty decent state of form, but they know playing such a strong outfit like Inter will not be easy at all. At least the Rossoblu won’t have to deal with too much pressure, so they can show up on the pitch and enjoy themselves. Catania's undefeated run should be ended by Inter's hunger for points. Prediction: Inter 3 – 0 Catania Juventus – Udinese They’re back. The Bianconeri may be not quite as talented as they used to be a couple of seasons ago, and their defence is far from being impeccable, but they’ve managed to get six points out of six and now they’re very confident they can enjoy a brilliant and successful season. Maybe it’s a bit too early to predict Juventus as a team competing for the title, but they’re definitely determined and focused on producing a season to remember. Iaquinta could be handed a chance to play against his former club, even if Del Piero and Trezeguet are eager to be on the pitch, even if it's just to wipe away the bad memories of some disappointing Euro 2008 qualifying games. Udinese were impressive at San Siro against Inter, but then collapsed in front on Napoli, being demolished by an incredible five goal margin. Will Di Natale repeat the brace he produced with Azzurri in Ukraine in midweek? Or will the defenders, including former Juventus goalkeeper Chimenti, repeat the disastrous game they had in front on the Neapolitan strikers? With the Bianconeri from Friuli, it looks like you’ll never know what to expect. A third success in the row for Juventus should be in the making. Prediction: Juventus 2 – 1 Udinese Napoli – Sampdoria In Naples, depression hit after the home defeat suffered against not-so-invincible Cagliari. But eventually Napoli made the most of the trip to Udine, racking up five goals: now, under the volcano, everybody is hyped. Latin Americans Lavezzi and Zalayeta could add value to a team which on paper should not have too many problems to remain in Serie A. But President De Laurentiis wants more: he requires to play in Europe next season. Last Sunday, after the Bellinzona friendly game, the Blucerchiati had to come to terms with a big blow: Cassano picked up a hamstring injury and he’ll be out for at least one month. Mazzarri will rely on some very experienced strikers like Bellucci and Montella in the meantime. The little airplane was rumoured to be going to Naples, but in the end he joined his beloved Sampdoria, where he started his incredible Serie A career. With these two teams involved, it should be a very open and entertaining game - and a close one, too. Prediction: Napoli 2 – 2 Sampdoria Palermo – Torino Amauri is back. The Brazilian striker has finally recovered from his injury and he’s already shown in Livorno he can be as lethal as he used to be at the beginning of the 2006-07 campaign. What's more, this year he's got a talented partner in former Juventus and Benfica forward Miccoli. If Palermo can be more consistent in the back four, the tifosi Rosanero can start dreaming of Champions League nights at La Favorita stadium. The Granata missed a good chance to start the season with four points in two games as they dropped the ball against a lower team, namely Reggina. They’re pretty confident Rosina can keep the current high standard of play, while Recoba can finally show his great qualities. The ex-Inter man is set to be picked with consistency by his mentor Novellino – the coach who used to train him in Venice when the Uruguayan produced his best season in Italy. Palermo should show they’re stronger than Torino and beat the Granata. Prediction: Palermo 2 – 1 Torino Reggina - Roma On paper, Reggina should be no-doubt relegation stick-ons. However, they’ve impressed quite a bit so far. It was a great achievement that they managed to keep a quality striker like Amoruso, but they also added a few new names to a team depleted by Bianchi and Mestos' departures. And last season they beat Roma 1-0 at Stadio Granillo. Can they repeat that feat on Sunday afternoon? Roma are top of the league along with old foe Juventus, and so far they’re also the only team in the whole Serie A not to have conceded a single goal. But a few players could be tired after the Euro 2008 commitments, and some defenders like Juan, Ferrari and Andreolli are still out, too. Before the big match against Juventus at Olimpico, and their Champions League debut, they have a difficult task at Reggio. If the Giallorossi really want to compete for the title they have to win supposedly easy away games like this. No surprise in sight, even though it won’t be a nice stroll for Roma. Prediction: Reggina 1 – 2 Roma Parma – Cagliari The Ducali put in a poor performance at Bergamo, where they deserved to lose against Atlanta - they did. Cagliari, meanwhile, were brilliant in the Juventus game, and maybe they should have got at least a point - they didn't. Nonetheless, for Parma, on loan striker Corradi is back to try to replace the injured Budan, who last season proved to be a goalscoring machine. Young gun Foggia has scored three goals so far - all on penalties, though - as Cagliari rack up some good showings. Another youngster, Acquafresca, managed to score a vital goal in Albania in midweek for the Italian U-21. The Rossoblu are on form and will try their best to create problems to Parma. A difficult prediction. Possibly a draw. </p>
Well done, though I can't agree with a few things. First, Livorno have basically an entirely revamped squad. Right now they are horrible, but they have a lot of quality on their club andit is going to take some time to adjust. They have whatmay likely end up being one of the best striking duos in the Serie A later into the season. Also, don't sleep on Catania. Perhaps they won't win, but last season their trio were quite dangerous; specifically Gionatha Spinesi and Giuseppe Mascara. Catania have a potent offensive game and could likely steal a goal or two. Remember that Inter are still missing their top keeper as well I believe.</p> </p> Cagliari are finally free from the fake superstar status of David Suazo. The man may have skill, but he often times made players uncomfortable.They've shown a lot of promise and should've drawn their previous match against Juventus, whichis already under the gun for match fixing.</p> </p> As for Sampdoria and Udinese, you can never rely on their talent to bring them consistant performances. That's why each season both clubs end up around mid-table, which is really a shame, especially last season for Sampdoria. Udinese's loss of Marek Jankulovski and Martin Jørgensen among countless others a few years ago is what was originally figurd to have hurt them, but not nearlyas much as the dying career and off-the-pitch problems of Vincenzo Iaquinta. The man is a washup, though I won't write that he'll be the "worst-best player" in history. That title issuper glued onto Christian Vieri. lol</p>
