Stuttering Napoli faces Milan as Serie A returns
Serie A returns after the international break, with Napoli facing Milan and Scudetto rivals Inter Milan taking on Udinese.
Napoli is feeling the heat in the title race as it prepares to host AC Milan on Monday (AEDT), having lost ground since the January sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Antonio Conte's side went into the international break having only won one of its past seven league matches, slipping three points below Inter at the summit.
Conte has repeatedly expressed his frustration over Kvaratskhelia's big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain, where the Georgia winger has quickly nailed down a starting spot.
Napoli lost top spot to Inter after the speedy wideman's sale, and Inter is now which is three points clear with nine rounds left.
Napoli lacked creativity as it drew 0-0 with Venezia in its most recent league outing, its fifth draw since Kvaratskhelia was sold.
On Monday (AEDT), Napoli faces another out-of-form side in Milan, whose head coach, Sergio Conceicao, is under severe pressure just three months after taking the reins.
Conceicao's side sits ninth on the table, six points behind Bologna, which currently occupies the fourth and final UEFA Champions League place.
The bright spot for the Portuguese manager is that he again has a full squad to choose from for the trip to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Milan is unbeaten in its past six visits in all competitions – three wins and three draws.
But Napoli, with 61 points, has 14 points more than Milan this season. Only three times in the teams' previous 153 Serie A matches has Napoli entered the game with a bigger points advantage, in 2014, 2018 and most recently in 2023.
Inter, meanwhile, can strengthen its position atop Serie A when it hosts Udinese. After spending much of 2024-2025 chasing Napoli, it has built a three-point buffer to its closest rival, having managed an impressive 2-0 win at Atalanta last time out.
Udinese should present a manageable challenge, with Inter having four straight league wins over it, but the Nerazzurri may lack their usual attacking firepower as Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram are likely to be sidelined with injuries.
With key defenders Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij also unavailable, Simone Inzaghi will be left relying on the Nerazzurri's depth.
Juventus, meanwhile, starts its new era under Igor Tudor with a home match against Genoa on Sunday (AEDT).
The Turin giant sacked Thiago Motta after enduring a difficult season, with its spot in next season's UEFA Champions League under threat as it sits fifth on the table.
It was often a case of possession without purpose under Motta, and Tudor's first task will be to inject some positivity into Juve's play.
Despite Juventus registering 113 build-up attacks, 18 more than any other team in Serie A this season, it has scored only three goals from such actions, ranking behind five other teams.
There could be change coming at Atalanta, too, with Gian Piero Gasperini saying he will not sign an extension to his current deal, which runs until June 2026.
Speculation has even suggested he could leave at the end of this campaign, with Juventus mooted as a possible suitor.
La Dea remains an outsider in the Scudetto race, sitting third with 58 points, but much of the media attention has been focused on the future of the club's head coach.
"There's always a beginning and an end. What lies in between is the journey, which is often the most beautiful part," Gasperini said recently, adding that he was focused on ending the current campaign, his ninth in Bergamo, on a high note.
He has brought UEFA Champions League qualification in six of his eight seasons at the helm and delivered a UEFA Europa League title in May last year.
"Am I looking for a house in Rome or Turin? For now, my home is in Bergamo. The present is what matters, and there are still nine league matches to play," he said.
Atalanta visits Fiorentina, which is also in the mix for UEFA Champions League qualification, on Monday (AEDT).
