Juventus seek to define title race after setback as top four teams jostle for points in cherry pie weekend: Serie A Femminile Matchday 14 Preview
Champions Juventus will look to bounce back from a disappointing two-all league draw with Fiorentina a fortnight ago when they travel to lowly Hellas Verona on Sunday.
The Turin side saw their 100% league record being brought to a halt by eighth-placed Fiorentina before being held to a one-all draw by Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final the following week.
The draw with Fiorentina saw their lead at the top of the Serie A being reduced to six points from eight.
Hellas Verona, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from a 4-0 thrashing by Sassuolo a fortnight ago. The defeat was the 12thof the season for the Verona side who sit at the bottom of the log with one point from one draw in 13 matches.
The Bianconere will be boosted by the return of Cristiana Girelli after the striker tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday, according to the club website. Girelli was initially dropped when she began her two-week Covid-19 vaccination cycle before testing positive for the virus two weeks later.
Read the club statement: “Cristiana Girelli carried out the check with a diagnostic test (swab) for Covid-19. The examination gave a negative result and the player has been, therefore, cured.”
Elsewhere, second-placed AS Roma host seventh-placed Pomigliano at the Stadio Tre Fontane on Saturday.
Alessandro Spugna’s side have a morale boost coming from a 1-0 league win over Napoli away a fortnight ago and a 3-0 Coppa Italia Quarter-Final win over Serie B side FC Como last weekend.
“We play in the most beautiful pitch in the league; and when we are at home, we have something more, starting with the fans”
The Roma side will also be boosted by the arrival of former LSK Kvinner striker Sophie Roman Haug this week, who will reunite with former LSK teammate, midfielder Emilie Haavi.
Ahead of the weekend clash, Spugna said that his troops will seek to make the best of the following home matches to build momentum.
“We play in the most beautiful pitch in the league; and when we are at home, we have something more, starting with the fans.
“We have to do well on Saturday, then we will have the Cup return with Como and [then] the break. Up to [the match against] Inter, we have to take advantage . . . because they are three home games and they must be tackled in the best possible way”, Spugna said.
Roma are on 31 points, six points away from log leaders Juventus, and have recorded 10 wins and one draw in 13 matches whilst Pomigliano are on 16 points, 15 points away from their opponents, having registered five wins and one draw in the same number of encounters.
Third-placed Sassuolo travel to sixth-placed Sampdoria on Saturday.
Sassuolo will have huge doses of morale coming from a 4-0 triumph over Hellas Verona a fortnight ago whilst Sampdoria will be looking to bounce back from a 4-0 league thumping at the hands of AC Milan a fortnight ago and another 4-1 drubbing in the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final by the same opponents last weekend.
Sassuolo, who are third behind Roma on the log on head-to-head, will be relishing the prospects of going second on the standings with a win over Sampdoria.
The visitors will bank on the services of Scottish striker Lana Clelland, who tops the current Serie A goal charts with 10 goals, and Juventus on-loan forward Sofia Cantore, who is joint-third top scorer in the current campaign with seven goals.
The visitors have amassed 31 points from 10 wins and one draw in 13 matches whilst the hosts have recorded 19 points from six wins and one draw in the same number of matches.
At the Centro Sportivo Peppini Vismara on Saturday, AC Milan host Lazio as Maurizio Ganz’s troops seek to lay a definitive claim in the grand scheme of things with nine matches to go in the Serie A Femminile.
Buoyant after a recent 4-1 Coppa Italia win over Sampdoria last weekend and another 4-0 demolition of the same opponents in the league a fortnight ago, Milan will look to make it 10 wins in 14 matches in the league while Lazio are coming from their 12th defeat of the season, a 3-1 beating by Inter Milan a fortnight ago.
Should Milan win, they will be on level points with AS Roma and Sassuolo who are on second and third places respectively with 31 points apiece.
The Rossonere will turn to the services of in-form former Fiorentina striker Martina Piemonte, who has found the net in their last two fixtures.
Fifth-placed Inter Milan host ninth-placed Empoli on Sunday.
Inter are coming from a 3-1 league win over Lazio a fortnight ago and will seek to make it nine wins in 14 matches whilst Empoli are coming from a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Pomigliano in the league a fortnight ago.
Inter will be relishing the prospects of going fourth on the standings with a win over Empoli should AC Milan lose their Saturday encounter with Lazio.
Rita Guarino’s side will bank on the services of forward Tatiana Bonetti, who is joint-third top scorer in the current Serie A campaign with seven goals and Cameroonian forward Ajara Nchout Njoya, who has five goals.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina host 10th placed Napoli at the Stadio Gino Bozzi on Sunday.
Fiorentina will be looking for their fifth win of the season as they seek to turn around their season’s fortunes whilst Napoli will be hunting for their third win of the season in order to escape the claws of relegation.
The hosts will bank on in-form forward Daniela Sabatino, who is second top scorer in the current Serie A campaign with nine goals, and three-time Serie A Femminile Golden Boot Award winner Valentina Giacinti, who is third top scorer in the current campaign with eight goals.
FIXTURES (Saturday): AC Milan vs. Lazio (12:30); AS Roma vs. Pomigliano (14:30); Sampdoria vs. Sassuolo (14:30)
FIXTURES (Sunday): Fiorentina vs. Napoli (12:30); Hellas Verona vs. Juventus (14:30); Inter Milan vs. Empoli (14:30)
All times are Central European Time (CET)