Serie A preview

WINDHOEK, DEC. 18 – The 2018/19 Serie A season kicks into overdrive with three full rounds spread over just eights days from 22 to 29 December, before the teams take a well-deserved break and return on the weekend of 18-20 January.

Make sure to take your front row seat to the best football action in Italy on DStv and GOtv.

The first full round takes place on Saturday, 22 December 2018, with the pick of the matches undoubtedly the late kick-off between Juventus and Roma at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Massimiliano Allegri’s side will be looking to continue their dominance of the Italian top flight in this intense period, which will also see them take on Atalanta away from home on 26 December and host Sampdoria three days later.

Roma, meanwhile, are simply looking for consistency in what has been a topsy-turvy season. The ‘Giallorossi’ generally raise their level of performance for the big games, but away to Juve may be a stretch too far for them. Daniele De Rossi, Aleksandr Kolarov and co. will hope that whatever happens away to the ‘Old Lady’, they can bounce back in their games against Sassuolo and Parma on 26 and 29 December respectively.

The 22 December round of matches also features Lazio hosting Cagliari, Milan taking on Fiorentina, Internazionale away to Chievo at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, and Parma hosting Bologna – all of which will be aired live across DStv.

The action then moves onto ‘Boxing Day’ (26 December) for the penultimate round of the year and the big game takes place at the San Siro in Milan, where Internazionale host Napoli. Both teams will be stinging from their exits from the UEFA Champions League earlier this month – as well as as an apparent inability to offer up a proper challenge to Juve in the title race – and fans can expect a thrilling encounter.

The key battle will be between Inter’s prolific striker Mauro Icardi and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, a defender who has truly lived up to his nickname – ‘The Wall’ – with his outstanding performances in recent weeks. The Senegalese centre-back is unlikely to be the only African star on show in this crunch game, with his compatriot Keita Balde proving to be a growing force for the ‘Nerazzurri’, while Adam Ounas and Faouzi Ghoulam could feature for the Neapolitans.

The Italian Serie A will then wrap up for 2018 on 29 December with the 19th round of matches – officially brining up the halfway point of the season. Milan, who have made steady if unspectacular progress under manger Gennaro Gattuso, will hope to end the year on a high with a win at home to SPAL. The ‘Rossoneri’ will again look to Ivorian star Franck Kessie for midfield dominance against a SPAL team likely to field Senegal’s Alfred Gomis in goal and Algerian defender Mohamed Fares.

Another Ivorian star hoping to end the year on a high will be Gervinho, whose Parma host Roma at Stadio Ennio Tardini. The veteran former Arsenal and Roma forward has been a major surprise in Serie A with his fine performances this season, and bringing the ‘Crociati’ a win over Roma would be a great way to cap off 2018.

Other key games in the final round of the year include Juventus at home to Sampdoria, Inter away to Empoli, Lazio hosting Torino and Napoli hosting Bologna at Stadio San Paolo.

Key match stats

Internazionale v Napoli – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 38
Inter wins 15
Napoli wins 14
Draws 9

Juventus v Roma – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 54
Juve wins 25
Roma wins 13
Draws 16

Parma v Roma – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 44
Parma wins 6
Roma wins 28
Draws 10

Serie A fixtures, 22-29 December
All times CAT

Saturday 22 December
13:30: Lazio v Cagliari – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Empoli v Sampdoria
16:00: Genoa v Atalanta
16:00: Milan v Fiorentina – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Napoli v SPAL
16:00: Sassuolo v Torino
16:00: Udinese v Frosinone
19:00: Chievo v Internazionale – LIVE on SS9
19:00: Parma v Bologna – LIVE on SS8
21:30: Juventus v Roma – LIVE on SS9

Wednesday 26 December
13:30: Frosinone v Milan – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Atalanta v Juventus – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Bologna v Lazio
16:00: Cagliari v Genoa
16:00: Fiorentina v Parma
16:00: Sampdoria v Chievo
19:00: Roma v Sassuolo – LIVE on SS9
19:00: SPAL v Udinese – LIVE on SS8
19:00: Torino v Empoli – LIVE on SS7
21:30: Internazionale v Napoli – LIVE on SS9

Saturday 29 December
13:30: Juventus v Sampdoria – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Chievo v Frosinone
16:00: Empoli v Internazionale – LIVE on SS9
16:00: Genoa v Fiorentina
16:00: Lazio v Torino
16:00: Parma v Roma – LIVE on SS7
16:00: Sassuolo v Atalanta
16:00: Udinese v Cagliari
19:00: Napoli v Bologna – LIVE on SS9
21:30: Milan v SPAL – LIVE on SS9 – Contributed