Inter Milan, who visit Fiorentina (11th) on Friday, and Milan, on Sunday against bottom side Crotone, will continue their battle for the Serie A title this weekend on matchday 21, while Juventus and Roma meet on Saturday for third place. Two points behind the leader Rossonero, Inter have a chance on Friday to take the first provisional position if they win in Florence.
But playing again on Friday is not something that Interista coach Antonio Conte appreciates, who would have liked to have 24 more hours of recovery after the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals, lost on Tuesday to Juventus (2-1).
Inter begins a month in which its national goals -Cup and League- are played, with the return to Juventus next week and the derby against Milan on the 21st.
If Fiorentina is far from its ambitions at the start of the season, the improvement is palpable in recent weeks. And Conte has not forgotten to what extent his team suffered in the first leg against French veteran Franck Ribery, in great form at San Siro, to prevail over the horn 4-3.
The Nerazzurri will regain Romelu Lukaku, suspended against Juventus this week, who will accompany Lautaro Martínez in attack. Between the two strikers they have scored 24 goals this season -14 for the Belgian and 10 for the Argentine-, three more than Fiorentina, second worst attack in Serie A (tied with Udinese), behind Parma.
Below the Milan teams, Juventus-Roma will be a direct fight for third place, with the Giallorossi one point ahead of the Bianconeri, who have one game less.
After the storm that led to the elimination in the Italian Cup against La Spezia, Roma have recovered a bit of serenity on the field with two wins, in addition to the reconciliation between coach Paulo Fonseca and star forward Edin Dzeko.
Discarded a dozen days ago for opposing the coach, Dzeko returned to training with his teammates this week and could be recalled on Saturday. However, he will have to abandon his captain’s armband, announced the club’s management.
Program of the 21st day of the Italian championship:
Friday:
Fiorentina – Inter Milan
Saturday:
Atalanta – Turin
Sassuolo – Spice
Juventus – AS Roma
Genoa – Naples
Sunday:
Benevento – Sampdoria
AC Milan – Crotone
Udinese – Hellas Verona
Parma – Bolonia
Lazio – Cagliari