Roma in Milan riddle as Juventus, Sassuolo look to rebound: Serie A Femminile Week 17 Preview
ASD Pomigliano's clash with Lazio has been postponed to a later date due to Covid-19 cases in the home team
Championship hopefuls AS Roma will be looking to bounce back from a one-all league draw against Juventus when they host AC Milan in a key Serie A Femminile clash on Saturday.
The Roma side saw their winning streak stretching over eight league matches come to an end with the draw away at Juventus a fortnight ago and will be looking to make a definitive statement on the title race against equally difficult opponents where a defeat will spell a major blow to their championship hopes with six matches to go.
The Roma side will turn to their 1-0 win over Empoli in the Coppa Italia Semi-Final first leg last weekend for morale.
Fourth-placed AC Milan, on the other hand, have been looking to increase pressure on the leading pack but have suffered setbacks lately with two draws in a row against Sassuolo and Napoli respectively.
Maurizio Ganz’s side will also be looking to put behind them a demoralizing 6-1 defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia Semi-Final first leg away in Turin last weekend.
Roma have recorded 12 wins, two draws and two defeats and amassed 38 points from a possible 48 whilst Milan have registered 10 wins, three draws and three defeats and are on 33 points.
Alessandro Spugna’s side will be banking on the services of Spanish forward Paloma Lázaro who is current club top scorer with six goals.
Le Giallorosse will be without star midfielder Emile Haavi who limped off during their Coppa Italia win over Empoli last weekend with a hamstring injury in her right thigh. The former LSK Kvinner star tops the club’s assist charts with four.
Milan will turn to the services of the in-form French forward Lindsey Thomas who is current club top scorer with six goals. She also scored in their one-all draw against Napoli a fortnight ago.
Elsewhere, champions Juventus will be looking to turn around their league fortunes when they travel to Naples for a clash with Napoli on Saturday.
The Bianconere’s form has been steadily on the decline since the turn of the year and they have recorded just two wins in their last five league matches.
Close by, pressure is mounting from second-placed Roma who are now just one win away from being level on points.
Napoli, on the other hand, have struggled and only recorded their fourth win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona three weeks ago and their third draw of the season with a one-all result against AC Milan a fortnight ago.
Joe Montemurro’s side are at the apex of the log with 41 points out of a possible 48 with 13 wins, two draws and one loss in 16 encounters whilst the Naples side are ninth on the standings on a meagre 15 points in the same number of matches.
The Bianconere will be turning to the services of current club top scorer Valentina Cernoia who has six goals.
Star gunslinger Cristiana Girelli has been off form since she tested Covid-19 positive in January and only found the back of the net in their Coppa Italia win over AC Milan last weekend. The 31-year-old Italy international last scored in the league against Sassuolo on the 4th of December last year.
US Sassuolo will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating 3-1 defeat to relegation bound Lazio when they travel to Empoli on Saturday.
Sassuolo’s defeat to lowly Lazio a fortnight ago was their third of the season and it moved them to six points away from log leaders Juventus.
The Neroverde have amassed 35 points from 11 wins and two draws in 16 outings and are third on the standings whilst Empoli have registered 18 points from five wins and three draws in the same number of contests and are eighth.
Sassuolo will pin their hopes on Scottish forward Lana Clelland who is joint-top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign with 10 goals and forward Sofia Cantore who is joint-third top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign with eight goals. Cantore is also joint-third on the current league assists charts with five.
Inter Milan have a tricky test when they host Sampdoria in a mid-table clash at the Stadio Felice Chinetti on Sunday.
Inter will be looking to recover from a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Pomigliano at home a fortnight ago, which was their second defeat in a row whilst Sampdoria will be buoyed by their 2-0 win over Fiorentina a fortnight ago.
Inter have registered 29 points from nine wins and two defeats in 16 contests whilst Sampdoria have registered four points less from eight wins and one draw in the same number of contests.
Rita Guarino’s side will be hoping that club top scorer forward Tatiana Bonetti will work her magic and add to her tally of eight goals.
Fiorentina will be looking to emerge from relegation zone when they host bottom-placed Hellas Verona on Sunday.
The Florence side plunged into relegation zone following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sampdoria a fortnight ago.
Hellas Verona, on the other hand, will be looking to register their first win of the season against the troubled Florence side having recorded their 15thdefeat of the season with a 1-0 result against Empoli a fortnight ago.
Fiorentina have registered 15 points from four wins and three draws whilst Verona have one point from one draw in 16 outings.
Fiorentina will be hoping that the star duo of Daniela Sabatino and Valentina Giacinti will produce the needed magic. Sabatino is joint-top scorer in the current Serie A Femminile campaign with 10 goals whilst Giacinti is joint-third top scorer with eight goals.
Meanwhile, ASD Pomigliano's clash with Lazio has been postponed due to Covid-19 cases in the home team.
Read a statement from Pomigliano: “The club announces that following an increase in positive cases of Covid-19 and given the number of members infected with the virus, the Pomigliano-Lazio championship match scheduled for Sunday 20 March at 14:30 pm . . . has been postponed to a later date.”
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FIXTURES (Saturday): Napoli vs. Juventus (12:30hrs); AS Roma vs. AC Milan (14:30hrs); Empoli vs. US Sassuolo (14:30hrs);
FIXTURES (Sunday):Fiorentina vs. Hellas Verona (12:30hrs); A.S.D Pomigliano (postponed) Lazio (14:30hrs); Inter Milan vs. Sampdoria (14:30hrs)
All times are Central European Time (CET)