Juventus date Milan, Roma in ‘Derby della Capitale’: Serie A Femminile Matchday 22 Preview
Recently crowned champions Juventus travel to AC Milan for their last Serie A Femminile clash of the season on Saturday.
Buoyant following their fifth consecutive crowning after beating US Sassuolo 3-1 last weekend, the Bianconere will be looking to make it 19 wins in 22 matches with a win at the Centro Sportivo Peppino Vismara whilst third place AC Milan, who failed to qualify for UEFA Women’s Champions League despite winning 3-0 in the Derby di Italia against cross-town rivals Inter last weekend, will be hoping to finish strong by collecting maximum points at home.
The visitors will be banking on the services of in-form midfielder Ariana Caruso, who has scored eight goals in 19 appearances for the Bianconere this season and is club top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign and striker Cristiana Girelli who has scored seven goals and made six assists in 16 appearances. The hosts, on the other hand, will turn to the services of forward Lindsey Thomas who has scored 10 goals in 21 appearances for the Rossonere and is joint-third top scorer with AS Roma’s Paloma Lázaro and Inter’s Tatiana Bonetti in the current Serie A Femminile campaign and defender Linda Tucceri Cimini who has seven assists in 17 appearances and is third on the current Serie A assist charts.
Juventus have amassed 56 points from 18 wins and two draws in 21 contests whilst AC Milan have registered 46 points from 14 wins and four draws in the same number of outings.
Elsewhere, AS Roma will be looking to finish strong when they travel to cross-town rivals Lazio for the reverse fixture of the Derby della Capitale on Saturday.
Buoyant following their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying after an 8-0 destruction of Sampdoria last weekend, Alessandro Spugna’s troops will look to inflict maximum harm on the hosts whose relegation fate has already been sealed.
The visitors will be hoping that Spanish striker Paloma Lázaro, who is joint-third top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign with 10 goals, will wear her scoring boots and lead a rout against their troubled rivals. They will also pin their hopes on midfielder Manuela Giugliano who has registered eight assists in 19 appearances and is second on the current Serie A assist charts.
Roma have recorded 51 points from 16 wins and three draws in 21 encounters whilst Lazio have recorded 13 points from three wins and four draws in the same number of outings.
Fourth place Sassuolo entertain fifth place Inter Milan on Sunday.
The Regio Emilia side will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-1 loss to Juventus last weekend and finish strong with a win over Rita Guarino’s side whilst the latter will be looking to also bounce back from a disappointing 3-0 derby loss to AC Milan last weekend.
Sassuolo will be banking on the scoring exploits of Scottish forward Lana Clelland who has scored 11 goals in 20 appearances for the Neroverde and is second top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign.
Inter, on the other hand, have will be relying on the services of forward Tatiana Bonetti who has scored 10 goals in 19 appearances and is joint-third top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign.
The hosts are on 40 points having recorded 12 wins, four draws and five defeats whilst the visitors are on 38 points having registered 12 wins, two draws and seven defeats.
Seventh place Empoli host eighth place Fiorentina on Sunday.
Buoyant after surviving relegation following a 1-0 win over ASD Pomigliano last weekend, Patrizia Panico’s side will be looking to finish strong with a win over Empoli away whilst the latter will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Napoli last weekend.
Panico will turn to the services of forward Daniela Sabatino who has scored 13 goals in 21 appearances for Fiorentina and is top scorer in the current Serie A campaign.
Empoli are on 23 points having registered six wins, five draws and 10 defeats whilst Fiorentina are on 21 points having recorded six wins, three draws and 12 defeats.
Sixth place Sampdoria will be looking to rebound from a humiliating 8-0 defeat to AS Roma last weekend when they host bottom place Hellas Verona on Sunday.
The hosts have registered 28 points from nine wins and one draw in 21 matches whilst the visitors have recorded five points from one win and two draws in the same number of contests.
Sampdoria will pin their hopes on star midfielder Yoreli Rincón who has registered nine assists in 18 matches and is first on the current Serie A assist charts.
Napoli will be relishing the prospects of moving to ninth place when they host Pomigliano on Saturday.
The hosts are 10th on the standings and have recorded 19 points from five wins and four defeats in 21 matches whilst Pomigliano are ninth on 20 points from six wins and two draws in the same number of contests.
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FIXTURES (Saturday): Lazio vs. AS Roma 12:30; Napoli vs. Pomigliano 14:30; AC Milan vs. Juventus 14:30
FIXTURES (Sunday): Fiorentina vs. Empoli 12:30; US Sassuolo vs. Internazionale 14:30; U.C Sampdoria vs. Hellas Verona 14:30
All times are Central European Time (CET)