Higuain faces his former team in the big match between Juventus and Napoli- Sarri stated that he would greet him like a dad who is pissed off with his son, while Higuain’s actual father stated that Gonzalo won’t celebrate if he scores on Saturday. But finding out that after Napoli’s recent match against Atalanta Higuain had dinner with many of his former teammates in Milano, was the most interesting story line going into the game for me.
While the Pipita is clearly the focus of the pre match hype, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were an unexpected player who resolves the game one way or the other- last season Zaza scored the most important goal of his career giving Juventus the win. Napoli has already scored 5 goals from corner kicks this season, and defending set pieces has historically been one of Allegri team’s weaknesses.
It will be interesting to see how the managers handle turnover since they have upcoming matches in the Champions League. Sarri will be without Albiol who is still injured, as well as Gabbiadini (whom Juventus used to co own) who is suspended.
Will Lapadula get a chance against his former team? While Carlos Bacca continues to be one of the most productive players on Milan, there are still some who question if his style truly fits Montella’s model. This week Bacca’s agent left the door open to the possibility his client could be sold at some point in 2017, which could give more opportunities to Milan’s most expensive summer acquisition Gianluca Lapadula who lead Serie B in scoring last season while playing for Pescara- the team the rossoneri will face on Sunday at San Siro.
Considering that Milan is coming off a heavy loss against Genoa, a match in which many of their backup played, it’s likely that Montella will go with Bacca but Lapadula should get a chance playing against his former team at some point. Pescara will be without their most well known defender in Campagnaro, who is suspended, but will likely feature two very promising offensive players in Caprari and Manaj who are owned by Inter and therefore could call San Siro their home in the near future.
Will Icardi continue to save de Boer while putting his former team’s new coach on hot seat? While Joe Hart gave Icardi the chance to end his longest scoreless drought at Inter (6 matches) on a silver platter, the Argentine striker scored another goal in the last few minutes of match against Torino to give de Boer a life line. Both Inter’s sporting director Ausilio as well as president Thohir stated on Friday that they have confidence in their Dutch manager but a loss against Sampdoria would make his status very tenuous.
By scoring another game winning goal against his former team Sampdoria on Sunday, Icardi would put the blucerchiati’s coach Marco Giampaolo job in serious jeopardy. Last season president Ferrero wasn’t afraid to make a coaching change by replacing Walter Zenga with Montella, and his new sporting director Prade’, who arrived last week, may want to hire his own manager. Sampdoria will almost certainly be without starting keeper Viviano, one of the best in Serie A, so they may need Muriel or Quagliarella to score to keep them in the game.
Can Immobile lead Serie A in scoring once again? The former Torino striker struggled playing in Germany and Spain, but he has resumed his scoring ways since returning to Serie A. Immobile has blown up like a Samsung phone this season at Lazio, he has already scored 8 goals this season and is a very good dark horse choice to reclaim the capocannoniere title he won in 2014.
Immobile has a lot of talent around him at Lazio despite Candreva’s departure this summer. Felipe Anderson is regaining the form that made him a target for top Premier League clubs not that long ago, and after holding out during the summer retreat, Keita is once again showing why he’s one of the most intriguing prospects in Serie A.
On Sunday Immobile will face Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico, Di Francesco’s squad has struggled a bit this season because of Berardi’s injury and fact they are juggling playing some mid week matches in the Europa League. Sassuolo will hope former Roma prospects Ricci and Pellegrini feel like they’re playing in a derby match against the biancocelesti.
How will Roma cope with another ACL injury? The news of Alessandro Florenzi’s knee injury must have felt like swing of Negan’s bat to the head for manager Luciano Spalletti. Florenzi is the fifth Roma player to suffer an ACL tear this calendar year, it happened just as Rudiger returned and while the team is still coping with the absence of underrated left back Mario Rui.
Florenzi’s versatility allowed Spalletti to move Bruno Peres to the left side of the defense, but now Roma will be forced to either use the unproven Emerson or the struggling Juan Jesus on a regular basis. At least Roma’s defense shouldn’t feel too threatened on Sunday since they’ll face Empoli at home- the Tuscan club has only managed to score 2 goals in their first ten matches of the season.
